Sins of the Father
by jrrm64
Summary: This takes place in Season Five after Requiem. This will be AU. Tony's father is the consigliere of the Genovese Crime Family and his Uncle Vincent 'The Butcher' DiNozzo is the Don. Tiva.
1. Prologue

**Setup: This takes place in Season Five after Requiem. This will be AU. Tony's father is the consigliere of the Genovese Crime Family and his Uncle Vincent 'The Butcher' DiNozzo is the Don. **

Sins of the Father

Prologue

Anthony DiNozzo lowered his sore body onto his sofa in the Georgetown section of Washington DC. He could hear the slight wheeze of his lungs from diving into the water and rescuing Gibbs, his boss, and Maddie Tyler after shooting and killing two mercs. The incident with genetically altered Y Pestis virus which gave him the plague left him with scarred lungs and those lungs hated water.

He sipped a glass of expensive MaCallan Fine Oak 17, a hundred and twenty-five dollar bottle of scotch. His taste for expensive scotch came from his father. He always said he inherited from his father a love of expensive scotch, his smile, and a temper which if he didn't control was cold, vicious and fatal. Oddly enough Gibbs should thank his father for that temper, since losing it allowed him to run straight at two armed mercs and shooting and killing them then fueled his rescue of Maddie and his beloved boss.

Of course, the money to buy the scotch he got from his English mother. He inherited from her his love of music, ability to play the piano, green eyes, and a trust fund, which allowed him to avoid his father and the whole DiNozzo family. His mother was an English aristocrat married to an Italian American mafia consigliere. She never realized what he was getting into when she married Anthony Domenic DiNozzo, Senior.

There was a knock on his door. He got up and opened the door revealing his partner Mossad Officer Ziva David. She stood there with her hair down looking slightly feral and wearing cargo pants, a jeans shirt and suede jacket. Her chocolate brown eyes smoldered slightly as she stared at him.

"Tony," she said.

Gibbs had a rule, rule 12, against co-workers dating, but when he was on hiatus for four months and Tony led the team, he and Ziva struck a balance between contempt at work and hot sex off duty. At first he stayed away from her even though they had immediate chemistry because of Gibbs' rule and the difference in their ages. She was twenty-five or six and he was thirty-seven, but his attraction towards her got him over that age difference. He thought he was falling in love with her then she was framed for murder by a rogue Mossad officer and she went running to Gibbs for help not him. This led to Gibbs returning and Tony's demotion to his position of senior field agent and Ziva breaking off their relationship. Her loyalty towards Gibbs was greater than her feeling for him. He could never admit to her how much that hurt him, how much her abandonment of him hurt.

"May I come in?" she said.

"Sure, Officer David," he said then stepped aside letting her into his apartment.

"I thought you might like company after what you did today," she said as she walked over to the sofa, sat down and took a sip of his scotch. "Expensive."

Before she joined NCIS as a liaison between Mossad and NCIS, she was the case officer of her brother, who went rogue and killed his former partner Kate Todd. He knew that she did a profile of him, so she knew some, if not most, of his background. Only Gibbs and Ducky fully knew his background as a disinherited son of a mafia consigliere. Most viewed him as having been raised a spoiled rich kid in Long Island, but they didn't know the whole story. His mother's illness and his father's disappointment in him, which led to beatings and finally neglect, were all part of his life.

"Yeah, I have a taste for it," he said. "Do you want your own glass?"

"Yes, please," she said.

He walked over to his bar area and poured her a glass and sat down beside her. She took the glass and took a sip. For a moment she allowed her eyes to linger on his handsome face. She had to admit that she loved his looks, his attitude, and even his childishness.

"How are your lungs?" she asked.

"I'm fine, Ziva," Tony said.

"I can hear a wheeze, Tony," she said.

"And why do you care?" he snapped.

She regretted breaking off their relationship as much as he did, but the pictures taken by Mossad of her and Tony was an implied threat against him. Deputy Director Eli David's daughter did not date some Italian American playboy. And then when Gibbs returned she kept his rules. She respected Gibbs too much mot to keep his rules. But she missed Tony. It was a physical ache not having him in her bed, but she couldn't tell him that. She couldn't admit that weakness.

"McGee and I got the CCTV footage from the warehouse and saw what you did. It was impressive," she said.

"Killing two men is not impressive," Tony said.

She knew his moods. He was in a black one for some reason. Her guess was that Gibbs almost got himself killed and Tony was always overly protective of Gibbs, just like Gibbs was overly protective of him. It was a shock that Gibbs was here tonight to check on Tony, she thought.

"Saving Gibbs and Maddie was," Ziva.

He took a sip of his scotch. The amber liquid burned as it traveled down his throat and into his stomach. The warmth remained.

"Yeah, I guess," said Tony.

"Gibbs was looking for you when he got back to the office. Jenny told him that she sent you home for the rest of the day," Ziva said.

"He knows where to find me," Tony took another sip and started feel the wheeze in his chest started to break up.

Tonight he'd use his inhaler and pop a couple of pills, that and a good night sleep and he'd be fine in the morning. He looked at Ziva. His stomach suddenly twisted. He wanted her; he desired her, but she hurt him.

"I know you, Tony, there is something wrong with you," she said.

"It's been a tough couple of years," he sighed.

"Gibbs leaving, you running the team, Gibbs coming back, your demotion, us, and Jeanne," she listed his bad two years.

"Jeanne wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for us falling apart," He said. "I fell in love with her because you were no longer there."

"Does that mean you loved me?" Ziva asked.

Tony got up. He tucked his black Hugo Boss shirt into his jeans.

"I'm hungry and I have nothing in to eat, so I'm going out to dinner," he said.

"Do you want company?" Ziva asked him trying to not sound hopeful.

"Actually, no. I want to be alone tonight," he said. "You can let yourself out. You are good at that."

He walked over and grabbed his leather jacket and left his apartment.

NCIS 

Vincent 'The Butcher' DiNozzo had been the Don of the Genovese Family for twenty-five years. It had been a successful reign as boss, which most observers credited his brother Anthony DiNozzo, his consigliere, for. Vincent, Anthony, and Mario Cuomo, the underboss, made up the administration of the Genovese Family. They were a strong triumvirate, which kept the Genovese a strong family, maybe now the strongest of the five families.

Before he became consigiliere Anthony was a big earner. He had the Midas touch running their father's trucking company into a business enterprise which included shipping, import and export, as well as trucking. He still was the CEO and Chairman of the company, but as of late he let his nephew Paulo run the day to day operations of the company. If he had a son he respected, he'd running the company and next in line to be consigliere. But Anthony chose his own path; he chose to be a cop.

Vincent and Anthony had their weekly dinner meeting at Il Cucina in Williamsburg. It was Vincent's favorite restaurant. Both men wore three thousand dollar suits with Anthony's suit being an Armani, while his brother went with a local tailor who made the suits just for Vincent.

"I heard from Michael in DC that your son is some kind of hero. He killed two mercs and then saved the life of two people who were stuck in a car in the Potomac," said Vincent.

"Why are you telling me about my son?" he said making the word son sound like it was a bitter, distasteful word.

"Because it was a shame that we lost him, Antony. If you had been a more loving father, we'd have someone who is better than Paulo or Vinnie or Johnny. The strongest children produced by our line have been Carlo's children and Francis is a priest and Allegra is a lawyer. Your Tony would have made a great leader for the family. He's charming, smart, and a fucking killer when he needs to be. You should have treated him better," said Vincent.

"He was a fucking whelp," hissed Anthony.

"No. He had some of his mother in him. He played the piano beautifully and loved his mother. That didn't make him a whelp. It made him different from his cousins," said Vincent.

"It made him soft," said Anthony.

"Did you see the bastard play football as a quarterback? He wasn't soft," said Vincent.

"Well, it's too late for him," said Anthony.

"You treat him like he is a babbo. He could have been a prince," Vincent said.

The waiter, who was dressed in black paints, white shirt and black vest, came by and cleared their dessert, which was rum cake. Vincent looked at him.

"Check," he said.

"Yes, sir," he replied and took off with the dishes.

"Franco from the Gambino Family wants to talk about a territory dispute," said Anthony.

"He's a jamook," Vincent said.

"Maybe so but if he wants to get together to make a marriage then we talk," said Anthony.

"Just because he's got the Mulignans he thinks he can intimidate us," said Vincent.

"His relationship with the African American gangs is impressive, but I doubt they'd support him if we went to the mattresses," said Anthony. "They like watching us kill each other."

"Okay, we'll talk," said Vincent. "I'll send Mario."

"Jesus, Vinnnie, Mario is oobatz," said Anthony.

"I know," he smiled.

"You are a bastard," Anthony laughed.

The waiter returned with the bill. Vincent looked at it and dropped two hundred dollar bills down on the table. He got up, as did Anthony. Immediately, their bodyguards got their overcoats and helped them on with them. The six men walked out of the restaurant into the chill of an early October night and waited curbside side for the limo.

As they waited a black SUV screeched as it turned the corner and an African American man stuck a Heckler & Hock MP7 out of the window and sprayed the DiNozzo party. The bodyguard jumped in front of Vincent and Anthony, who both hit the ground to preserve their lives. The car sped away leaving injured and dying behind.

In the background there was the sound of police sirens. They filled the streets over the sounds of cars and people shutting.

NCIS

Tony drank his dinner more than ate it. He opened the door to his two bedroom apartment and saw that the light was still on in his living room. Asleep on his sofa was Ziva. She was using her suede jacket as a blanket.

Tony walked over to her and kneeled down beside the sofa. He softly touched her hair moving it out of her face. Ziva opened her eyes and looked into his sea green eyes.

"I have missed you," she said.

"I always miss you," he said.

"Can I stay the night?" asked Ziva.

"I'll get the spare bedroom ready," he said.

"No, can I stay with you, Tony?" she asked again.

"Oh, Zi, I don't know if I can take playing this game. I love you," he said

With those words she put her arms around his neck and drew him in for a kiss. It started as a soft kiss then all they pent up passion was released. He picked her up off of his sofa and carried her into his bedroom.

"Ani ohevet ot'cha," she said as he put her down on his bed.


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

Tony awoke with Ziva's naked body wrapped around his naked body. When he first took the undercover assignment going after Rene Benoit from Director Shepard, he thought all he had to do with Jeanne Benoit was string her along. It seemed easy, a little charm and a few lies. He had Ziva, so he didn't want anything more from her. But once Ziva asked Gibbs for help and then she stopped seeing him, he started to treat Jeanne as a real relationship instead of an assignment. That ended up not going well for either one of them.

Now he lay in bed with Ziva in his arms once again and life starting to make sense again. He thought about last night. They had spent hours making love, or having sex, or just plain screwing. Sometimes he wasn't sure what to call it with him and Ziva. There were moments when he knew that she was the one, his great love of his life, and then there were moments when she was the hottest fuck he'd ever had and nothing more. It seemed to be her willingness to admit what she felt for him that set the barometer for their relationship.

As he shifted in bed he remembered that Jenny gave him the day off today to recover from his heroics. Considering he still felt a little heaviness in his chest, he felt relieved he didn't have to go into work. He could spend the day with his inhaler and meds and getting a start on a long weekend where he could get rid of the slight rattle in his chest.

"You need to use your inhaler," Ziva said with her head resting on his chest.

"How do you know?" he asked.

"I've been listening to your breathing," she said then turned her head and sucked on his nipple.

"Oh, Jeeze, losing train of thought here," he said.

She stopped with a un-Ziva like giggle, which meant she was highly amused by herself.

"I need to get up and go to my apartment to change. I know Jenny gave you the day off," she said.

She sat up then gracefully slid out of bed. He looked at her naked form. In his opinion her body was sensual, lithe, and possessed the perfect ass. He stared at her as she collected her clothes then turned and faced him.

"I will remind Gibbs that you are not coming in," she said.

"Yeah, sure," he said once again losing his focus as he stared at her. "You are one of the few women I've met that can make me turn to jelly just standing there nude and doing nothing. God, I am crazy about you."

"Ditty," she said.

"You mean ditto. A ditty is a song," he corrected her.

"If you want to see me naked again, you better take care of yourself today," she said.

"I will," he smiled.

Ziva hustled off to the bathroom to change.

NCIS

Supervisory Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs sat at his desk reviewing his senior field agent incident report. He had avoided Tony yesterday because part of him didn't want to be saved, he wanted to join his deceased daughter and wife, and then there was another part of him that was pissed that DiNozzo played cowboy, just like he had. Yes, he saved Maddie's and his life but his actions could have cost him his own life. He thought he had taught him better than that. Rule 15, always work as a team.

The report read like an episode of _Magnum PI_, Tony's all-time favorite TV show. His running through the warehouse and killing the two mercs while taking fire was bad enough then he dove into the Potomac and rescuing Maddie then him and having to give them both CPR, even though his own lungs probably were burning from overuse. Yeah, he was pissed with DiNozzo for risking his life like that. And he was proud of him.

After discovering him as a homicide detective in Baltimore he had worked with DiNozzo for the last seven years now. There was no one he trusted more covering his six than DiNozzo no matter how big a pain in the ass he could be. Yes, some of his masks he wore in order to deflect and misguide people got under Gibbs' skin, especially his clown mask with his jokes and constant sarcasm, but he knew the man underneath the clown mask was a lonely, strong, and damned near unbreakable son-of-a-bitch who refused to his fate in life and chose his own path, even though it meant a lot of pain and detractors. He admired Tony Dinozzo and even thought of him as the son he never had, though he would never admit to it.

McGee and Ziva got of elevator at the same time. They entered the bullpen area of the Gibbs' led Major Crime Response Team, MCRT. As McGee headed for his desk, Ziva tossed her backpack behind her desk and then spoke to Gibbs.

"Do not forget that Tony will not be in today, Gibbs. Director Shepard gave him the day off," she said.

"You saw him after work last night, Ziver," Gibbs said. It wasn't a question but a statement that required more information.

"I wanted to check on him. His chest sounded wheezy," she said.

Gibbs ran his right hand through his silver and grey hair and stared down at his desk for a moment. He was afraid that DiNozzo would get some kind of chest cold from his swim. If he didn't take care of chest colds, they could morph to pneumonia and with his scarred lungs that could kill him. Sometimes worrying about DiNozzo was like worrying about a toddler.

"He was going to use his inhaler and take his medications today," Ziva told him.

Gibbs didn't answer but exhaled a pent up breath then wondered if he should head over to DiNozzo's apartment and check on him. Before he could make up his mind to go the telltale ding that the elevator made to announce more arrivals or departures could be heard and the frog faced FBI Special Agent Tobias Fornell and his African American partner Special Agent Sacks in their trench coats and cheap suits came strolling into the bullpen. Gibbs' famous gut let him know that something not good was about to happen.

"Tobias, why are you here?" asked Gibbs.

"LCN business," he said.

Gibbs went to stone.

"LCN business?" Ziva spoke up.

"FBI for La Cosa Nostra," Sacks smugly said to her.

"And that would be?" she asked.

"The Italian Mafia, Ziver," Gibbs spoke up sounding frustrated.

"More precisely, the Sicilian Mafia," said Fornell.

"I am sorry, Gibbs, that I didn't know that. Mossad trained me in terrorists not criminals," she said.

"No one is blaming you for anything, Ziver. Listen and learn," he growled, as his mood turned even more sour.

"We're here to talk to an expert on the La Cosa Nostra," said Fornell.

"He's not in today, Tobias," said Gibbs. "Come back some other day."

Ziva perked up. The only person not in today was Tony. She wasn't aware that he was an expert on the Mafia other than owning all Three Godfather movies and making her watch them one weekend.

"A hit was attempted on his father and his uncle," said Fornell.

"Tony's father is the CEO of DiNozzo Enterprises, right?" asked Ziva.

Fornell smiled at Gibbs: "Your people don't know about your boy, do they?"

"Fornell, you know he has nothing to do with his family," said Gibbs

"Anthony DiNusto Senior is the consigliere of the Genovese Crime Family and his Uncle Vincent is the Don," said Sacks.

"Wait a minute," McGee spoke up finally looking away from his computer. "Tony said his uncle was a butcher."

"Not a butcher, Special Agent McGee, but the Butcher. He's Vincent 'The Butcher' DiNutso," said Fornell with a chuckle. "He got the name because he used to like to hang his victims up by their feet and gut them."

"I didn't know that," said McGee as he blanched at the thought of being hung upside down and gutted.

"We need to talk about the Genovese Family and other matters," said Fornell.

Ziva and McGee exchanged confused expressions. From what they knew Tony had grown up a rich kid on Long Island in the Hamptons to be exact and not much else, except he didn't get along with his father. She had to admit that she go into depth on Tony's profile all those years ago. It was Gibbs who got the most attention.

"Both Vincent and Anthony DiNutso survived though two of their bodyguards are dead and another one is expected to die," said Fornell. "I really need to speak to DiNozzo. It's important Jethro. I think we might have a mob war on our hands. He knows the players better than most and not only because he was born into it."

"McGee, call up DiNozzo and tell him he needs to come in. The FBI wants to speak to him," growled Gibbs, who then glared at Fornell with his grey blue eyes. "Don't try and get my agent involved in this beyond information."

"Trust me, Jethro, I just want to talk to DiNozzo," he said.

NCIS

Vincent DiNozzo sat at the table with his brother Anthony in The Italian American Club at Coleman Square in Howard Beach, Queens, New York. It was a drab, badly decorated little club with an Italian flag hanging on one wall and Sinatra and every other Italian singer on the jukebox. Vincent sipped the espresso that Jimmy made him since he was the only one with the knack to use the brass espresso machine they had. Anthony had called in the underboss Mario and several of their caporegime, as well as Vincent's sons Paulo, Vinnie and Johnny. They were now waiting on Mario.

"What have you found out so far, Antony?" asked Vincent.

"Someone in the Gambino's hired an African American street gang to take you and me out," Anthony said.

"Was it Franco?" Vincent asked.

"I'm not sure," he answered.

"Find out. If it was Franco, we're at war. Che peccato. If it wasn't him, then there is still a chance to avoid a war. War is bad for business," said Vincent.

"I'll send out feelers. I'll get you an answer by tomorrow," said Anthony.

The door to the club open letting some sunshine into the dark club confines. Mario Cuomo and six of his soldiers came walking in. Mario was six foot tall and two hundred and seventy pounds. When he was younger it was all muscle, but not so much anymore.

"Vinnie, Antony, thank God, you are alive," he said then blessed himself, "this family would be fucked without the two of you."

He walked over and sat at the table with Vincent and Anthony.

"What have you done about the shooting so far?" asked Vincent.

"I sent some cugines to find the Mulignan gang that tried to kill you and with a message job," he said. "They'll find them and they'll kill them and it won't fucking be pretty."

"Good. That's a start," Vincent said.

"Trust me, someone started this but we are going to fucking finish it," said Mario.

"Contact the boys in Jersey and get them ready," advised Anthony.

Mario nodded his head in the affirmative.

"Get me Sal Alito. If Franco isn't involved in this then he can act as our messaggero to the Gambino's," said Vincent.

"I'll give him a call later," said Anthony.

"Mario, just in case this is a war make sure family, including comares, are safe," said Vincent.

"Even our comares, our mistresses. Really, why?" said Anthony.

"They are part of the family and a way to get to us. Anyway, you've got more gabagool on the side to eat than most of us," Vincent teased his brother, which shut him up.

"Including Allegra and Father Francis, Carlo's kids?" asked Mario.

Vincent nodded yes.

"How about Anthony, junior?" asked Mario.

"He's a fucking fed. Let him dance alone. He likes it that way," said Anthony.

"I'll handle him," said Vincent.

NCIS

Dressed in jeans, a tee shirt, and an OSU hoodie with a leather jacket over it, Tony walked into the bullpen. As he walked by Ziva's desk she looked up from her work and smiled at him. He returned the smile with one of his own. Gibbs looked him up and down. He looked healthy enough, but he wanted Ducky to check his lungs before he left today.

"Gibbs, you called me in," Tony said.

"I got Fornell and Sacks in the conference room upstairs waiting to talk to you. Somebody attempted a hit on your father and your uncle," Gibbs stated.

"I didn't do it," smiled Tony putting a mask on.

Gibbs shook his head knowing this wasn't going to be easy for his SFA: "They know that, DiNozzo."

Gibbs stood up and put his right hand in Tony's left shoulder and got on close to his face. Tony relaxed his mask and his real face appeared. He was a conflicted man and the residual anger from his father's treatment of him showed in his eyes and the turn of his mouth.

"I'm here for you and will support you on whatever you decide. Fornell said he wants information because he fears a war is going to break out," said Gibbs. "You know those wars can get bloody and they don't care about collateral damage. Innocent people could die."

"Vincent understands the collateral damage. That's why he is the Don," said Tony.

"I won't let you deal with any of this alone," Gibbs said.

If you listened closely enough you could almost hear the word son at the end of the sentence. Ziva and McGee watched the two men. It was seldom that Gibbs showed his affection for Tony in front of anyone. He knew how uncomfortable it made him when someone showed him real affection in public. Ziva had even seen him become uncomfortable in bed. It had taken him a long time to accept her caring about him and she almost ruined it by choosing to follow Gibbs rules.

"Okay, I'll talk to them," said Tony then he paused.

He looked at McGee and Ziva. Both of them seemed eager to hear what Tony had to say.

"The team comes along. I don't want to be repeating myself too often and you can see that they won't stop until they know the truth," Tony said.

Gibbs stepped away and looked at McGee and Ziva: "Keep your mouths shut up there and be prepared to be stunned."

The four of team members headed up the mezzanine's stairs. As they reached the landing Jenny Shepard came out of her office in order to hand Cynthia something and she noticed that one of her MCRT seemed to be headed towards the conference room.

"Jethro," she said.

SLL eyes turned to the fiery red head who was the current Director of NCIS.

"I'll explain later, Jen," he said. "The FBI is waiting for us in the conference room."

"I'll expect an explanation," she said then returned to her office.

They entered the conference room. Tony felt his heart starting to thump in his chest. He knew it was best to handle it this way. Whenever he had dealing with his family and he kept secrets they ended up hurting someone he care for.

Fornell smiled when the whole entered the conference room. Sacks snarled.

"DiNutso," Fornell said.

"DiNozzo. I'm not one of them, Fornell. I pronounce it DiNozzo," Tony corrected him.

"As if that doesn't make you a member of the family," Sacks derisively laughed.

"And you wonder why I don't trust the FBI," Tony said as he sat down.

Gibbs sat down beside him and McGee and Ziva remained standing with Ziva taking a position right behind Tony, as if she was protecting his back.

"It appears that someone hired an African American gang to try and kill your father and Uncle Vincent," said Sacks.

"Mulignans or Mooleys," said Tony.

"What?" replied Sacks.

"They call African Americans Mulignans or Mooleys in the Family. It means eggplant," explained Tony.

"Isn't that nice and racists? I don't usually work LCN," said Sacks.

"Stugots," Tony hissed.

Fornell smiled. Until Ellis Island his family name was Fornello. He knew and understood the mob, though he was without the in depth knowledge that Tony had.

"Some believe it is Franco Moretti, the current Capo of the Gambino Family responsible," said Fornell. "What's your opinion?"

Tony inhaled then slowly exhaled. Ziva watched his body language change from bent over to sitting straighter and more relaxed.

"Franco is a mortadella, a loser. He's temporary at best and he'd never make a move against Vincent," said Tony. "If my father is worth his salt as consigliere he'll know this is the work of young Turks being led by some cugine, some ambitious bastard looking to be made and looking to lead."

"How are you so sure about this, DiNozzo?" asked Sacks.

"Did he read my file completely, including the redacted shit?" asked Tony.

"No," smiled Fornell. "Tell him."

"After over two years in Peoria as a cop I was recruited for a joint FBI and Philly PD op. They died my hair black and gave me a background history and sent me off to Philly to infiltrate the Macaluso Family knowing I wouldn't run into any of the New York or Chicago Families. After two years I was being groomed to be the next Don and had enough evidence to put Mike Macaluso, his underboss, and several of his caporegime put away from life," he explained. "They embraced me as family and I stabbed them in the chest."

Ziva stared at the back of the head of the man she loved. She had to admit she kept underestimating him and he kept surprising her.

"Et tu, Tony," said Fornell.

"Very funny, Fornell," said Tony.

"I wanted you for the FBI after that but you chose Baltimore as a homicide detective," said Fornell.

"I didn't want to be involved in Family business for the rest of career. I want nothing to do with the Five Families," said Tony.

"How will your uncle react to this attempted hit?" asked Fornell.

"He'll find out if Franco was behind it. If he is, then it's war. If it isn't Franco, he'll want the head of the bastard who is behind it. Either way blood will flow," explained Tony.

"If it is young Turks?" asked Fornell.

"From what I know the young Turks in several they are upset at the current condition of Families. They believe new young blood is needed to bring the Families back to their former glory. They've grown up on watching _The Godfather_ and _The Sopranos_," he said.

"How do you know this if you are not involved with your Family?" asked Sacks.

"Listen, Slacks, I didn't grow up part of the Family but I do have one or two childhood friends who I remain friendly with. One is a simple soldier and the other is a caporegime. They keep me abreast of things," said Tony.

"Why?" asked Sacks.

"For my safety. I don't want to be Anthony Domenic DiNozzo, Junior, but I am. A vendetta on my father is a vendetta on me. A vendetta on the Family is a vendetta on me, even though I have nothing to do with them and I'm a Navy cop," he said. "Plus, I've got a lot of Family members who hate me for what I did to the Macaluso family and for never becoming a made man, a man of honor. My father is one of them."

McGee's eyes opened wide. It didn't matter what Tony wanted he was part of the Family, even though it was a Family that hated him.

"But Vincent likes you, doesn't he?" asked Fornell.

"I was twelve when my father finally turned his back on me and sent me to camps in summer and military school the rest of the time. Whenever I was with family, it was with Vincent's family. He thought my father failed me. Vincent is big on the children being the future of the Family and he thought I was a great loss," Tony told them.

"Help us, DiNozzo," said Fornell. "No undercover work this time, but work with me and the task force I'm heading to gain control of this before it falls apart and New York has blood running in the streets like Cleveland in the seventies."

"Fornell, I warned you," Gibbs growled.

"I need him, Jethro," said Fornell. "He's a fucking goldmine for this kind of work."

"I don't do anything without my team, Fornell. I'm NCIS and part of Gibbs' team. I trust them," Tony said.

"What if I can somehow get you and your team on the task force, will you help me then?" asked Fornell.

"Yes," Tony answered.

"Fornell, we don't need him," said Sacks.

"Yes, we do," smiled Fornell.

"Today is my day off," said Tony, "so if no one else wants me, I'm going home."

"You are seeing Ducky first. I want your chest checked out," ordered Gibbs.

"Yes, boss," Tony sighed.

NCIS

The sexagenarian Scott medical examiner had Tony take his hoodie off and his tee shirt off and now held a stethoscope to his chest and listened to his breathing. Tony stared at Ducky's red bow tie as Ducky played doctor on him. Gibbs watched with his arms folded in front of his chest and not saying a word.

"Deep breath," he said, "now release."

"I'm fine, Ducky," said Tony.

"You have a slight rattle in the chest. Are you using the inhaler?" he asked him.

"Started this morning," Tony answered.

"And the medicine that Dr. Pitt subscribed for these moments. Are you taking it?" he asked.

"Started this morning," said Tony.

"By Monday you should be cleared up then," said Ducky. "I'd get plenty of rest this weekend and no alcohol."

"Not even MaCallan Fine Oak 17?" Tony grinned.

"Ah, well a small thimble full now and again won't hurt you," said Ducky.

"Good because I'm going to need a thimble full after today," he sighed.

"Keep the inhaler and medicine up and you'll be fine," said Ducky.

It was then that Ziva unexpectedly came into the autopsy. She smiled subtly when she saw the shirtless Tony.

"Gibbs, Fornell wishes to speak to you before he leaves," said Ziva. "He is in with Director Shepard."

"Stay here, Ziver, and make sure DiNozzo doesn't go anyplace until I return," said Gibbs then he turned and bolted out of the autopsy.

"You may put your shirt and hoodie back on, Anthony," said Ducky with a smile then he looked at Ziva over his glasses. "Officer David, has Anthony told you about his father?"

Tony looked at Ducky not bothering to hide his annoyance.

"No, he has not, Ducky," she said.

"You should have him do so some day. It is an excellent way to come to a better understanding of Anthony," said Ducky. "I believe that would benefit you."

"And who is to say that I'd tell her, Ducky?" asked Tony.

"Yes, when would I get him to tell me?" asked Ziva.

"I recommend pillow talk," smiled Ducky.

"Ducky, you don't think Ziva and I are…," Tony started to attempt a cover up of their relationship.

"Anthony, you do not have to make up excuses or lies with me. I do not labor under Jethro's rules. The heart will do as the heart wants," he said then he packed up his medical kit. "I believe you are a lovely couple."

Ducky noticed that Ziva blushed slightly at his comment. He knew that the lass had fallen in love with Tony, but he was surprised that Tony broke Jethro's sacred rules. Anthony must have fallen for Ziva as hard as she did for him.

"Now I must see Abby. She was running tests on another case that we are working on for Balboa's MCRT," he said and trundled off to Abby's lab.

"Well, that was unexpected," sighed Tony.

"Ducky is a very bright man," Ziva said.

"Perceptive bastard more like it," said Tony. "I'll have to ask him what gave it away."

"So we can continue to hide it from Gibbs," Ziva said.

"You mean you want to continue the relationship this time, Officer David?" asked Tony. "You want to have a relationship with me again."

"Very much," she smiled. "I thought I could bring my go bag with me tonight and stay with you while you get better."

"Are you going to take care of me?" he asked her.

"If you find it preferable, I can torture you," Ziva smiled.

"I wouldn't mind the company," he said.

"I shall have to ask Ducky later what I should make you for dinner," said Ziva.

Ziva's smart phone rang. She answered it.

"Yes, Gibbs," she said.

"_Send DiNozzo home. I'm going to be in a conference with Director Shepard and Fornell for God knows how long. Tell him I'll call him this weekend to check up on him_," Gibbs hung up.

"Gibbs says you can go home. He will go you to check up on you this weekend," she smiled.

Tony got off the metal autopsy table and walked over to Ziva, took her in his arms and then devoured her mouth with his own. Once she moaned with pleasure, he stepped back.

"I'll see you later," he said.

She smiled.


	3. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

In the blue darkness of his bedroom Ziva straddled Tony and slowly and determinedly moved up and down on him. They both were bathed in sweat and lost in their latest sexual collision. As she teased them both with the steady slowness, Tony finally grabbed onto Ziva's hips hard enough to leave bruises, if not his fingerprints, and began to move her up and down faster and faster until she was screaming from the experience and he was barely holding on to his own orgasm. No longer able to deal with the feelings, she let go completely screaming out his name and he followed a minute or two behind her. She collapsed on his chest and began to have sporadic spasms of post coital orgasms. He held her tightly never wanting to let go.

"I love you, Tony," Ziva said.

"I love you, too, Zi," he replied.

His smart phone rang. Ziva didn't want to move and he didn't want her to move, but she knew he had to answer it, so she slid off of him.

He reached over and grabbed it and answered: "DiNozzo."

"_Director Shepard is talking to SecNav about loaning us to the FBI Organized Crime Task Force. It seems he likes the idea. Are you sure you want to do this, Tony_?" asked Gibbs.

"I don't think I really have a choice, boss. I can't sit by and let a mob war breakout and watch the body count mount up and do nothing. And it's my fucking family behind it," he said.

"_I know. Wherever you go or whatever you do in New York you are either going to have Ziva or me on your six_," Gibbs said.

"Ziva speaks some Italian and understands more which is a good thing for whoever sticks close to me," said Tony.

"_I'll talk to her on Monday. She'll stick with you. Fornell will be by again to talk to you on Monday_," Gibbs said. "_Get rest and get better_."

"Thanks, boss," he said then hung up.

"We are going to New York, yes?" Ziva asked.

"It looks like that," he sighed.

"You should have said no, Tony," Ziva said.

"I couldn't, Zi. I became a cop for a reason and this is one of the reasons," Tony said.

"Tell me about your father," she said.

"Pillow talk like Ducky said, huh?" he smiled.

"Please, Ahuvi, tell me about him and you," she purred.

"Okay, I'll tell you, but I need a drink to talk about him," said Tony.

Tony wore a pair of grey sweatpants and Ziva put on one of his OSU tee shirts. They headed to his sofa, but not before he poured them each a healthy scotch.

"When my Emma Paddington married Anthony DiNozzo she thought she was marrying the CEO of a company. You see he was handsome, charming, and wealthy, though not as wealthy as her family. What she didn't know was he was a made man, Mafia," he started.

Ziva sipped her drink and looked at the side of his face, as he refused to make eye contact. His voice was flat and without emotion, as if the subject was too painful for him to speak freely. He needed to be restrained and under control. She understood that.

"So for the first eight years of my life I was mommy's little boy, her little prince. She dressed me up in sailor suits, piano lessons, horseback lessons, read classic books to me, and watched movies, especially the movies of the 30s, 40s and 50s. Well, I didn't really notice the increased drinking or the vomiting or the weight loss. I was only a boy. It was until she was in the hospital with cancer and I was watching a movie with her and she died beside me that I realized my mother was that sick and I was going to lose her," he explained.

"You love movies because of her," she said.

"Yup," Tony sighed. "So, I was left with Anthony DiNozzo who had no time for me and seemed to dislike me. It was six months after my mother's death that he gave me my first beating. I made the mistake of interrupting a meeting between him and a rival Families consigliere. Next, he beat for talking back and then he beat me for not showing enough respect. At first, I thought it was my fault. I thought I was forcing him to beat me because of bad, needy behavior, but by the time I was ten years old I realized he just didn't like me. I was his son and he didn't like me. I wasn't DiNutso enough for me. I guess I had too much Paddington blood, you know the green eyes, and brown, almost sandy hair. I reminded him of my mother and she had the audacity to die on him," he stopped as his voice had too much emotion in it. He needed to have less emotion or he couldn't continue.

"At eleven, he disowned me because I called him an asshole in front of Vincent, who was highly amused by my behavior. So my last beating came at on my twelfth birthday. He brought me to Hawaii with him. The reason was for business, you see he was opening up a relationship with some Indonesian drug cartel. They called him to Bangkok on business and left leaving me in the hotel room all by myself. He didn't even realize he left me," Tony stopped to take a long swig of his scotch.

Ziva was tempted to have him stop and to get in his lap and comfort him, but she knew it was best to let him finish. He was sharing with her and he didn't do that too often.

"After crying for a couple of hours, I got my act together and started ordering room service, watched TV, and generally had a good time. It lasted for three days. When he returned to the hotel and saw the hotel bill I had run up, he wanted to kill me, but he waited until we got home to Long Island. Well, once he got home he beat me until I had to be hospitalized. It was after that Vincent made him do something about me before he killed me. He didn't like how his brother was treated me, his nephew. My summers were spent in at camps and military school the rest of the year until I was eighteen," he said then stopped again for another swig of his scotch.

"What happened when you were eighteen?" Ziva asked.

"I got an athletic scholarship to Ohio State. Vincent sent my father to me to see if I could be convinced to rejoin the family. I had a scholarship in one hand and knew that when I was twenty-five the trust fund my mother left me kicked in, so I told him to get the fuck out of my life and I never wanted to see him again. He left and three and half years later I had a potential sports career ruined by a knee injury. While I was rehabbing I decided that I wanted to be cop and so you have it," he said then turned his face to look at Ziva.

She had tears in her eyes, as she saw the bottled up emotions in Tony. Before he could open his mouth to speak, Ziva crawled into his lap and kissed him.

"Ducky was right and I'm glad you told me," she said.

She started to kiss him again and he started to respond. He slipped his tongue in her mouth where it met her tongue.

"You are not your family and you are not your father," said Ziva.

He started to kiss her neck and she moaned. For the moment he didn't want to talk about the DiNozzo Family or the Genovese Family, he just wanted to lose himself in Ziva's body.

NCIS

Long Island City was going through a revival in the art community as the gentrification of the neighborhood turned what was once abandoned and rundown into expensive real estate, but it wasn't completely gentrified yet. It still had its abandoned warehouses and Mikey Palmeri and his crew had tracked the four young men in the SUV down and brought them to one of those warehouses.

The four young men had their hands tied behind their back with plastic zip ties and they were kneeling in front of four members of Mikey's crew, who were holding Browning Hi-Power handguns to the back of their heads.

"I am what they call in the Family an enforcer," said Mikey. "I like to think of it was more of a calling than a fucking job."

He stood five foot ten inches of sculpted muscle. He was thirty years old, but he already had fourteen years of experience in the business doing his first victim when he was sixteen. He killed a local guy in Astoria, Queens for trying to rape his sister. He cut his throat with a knife and one of the Genovese caporegime found out about it before the police and hid the body and took him under his wing.

"What my men are about to do to you is called a message job," Mikey said. "If done correctly it will send a message to your people and to others telling them not to fuck with the Genovese Family."

The four young African American men tried to remain cool, act tough, but the façade was cracking. They could feel their lifespans growing shorter and shorter.

"We were paid for that job. It wasn't personal," said one of the young men.

"Trust me killing you is fucking very personal. Vincent DiNutso is my Don," Mikey smiled. "This is my Family."

"We didn't even know who we were going to be shooting," he said.

"Who paid you?" Mikey asked.

"I don't know, some guy. He gave us 20 Gs for the job," he said.

"20 Gs to kill Vincent and Anthony DiNutso," laughed Mikey. "You came cheap. No wonder you didn't do a good job."

"He gave us the guns, too," said the young man.

"Give me a description," said Mikey.

"Italian looking, black hair, but blue eyes, light blue eyes. He was, you know, good looking, probably thirty years old tops and dressed in fucking three thousand dollar suits and had a freaking gold Rolex on his left wrist," he rambled on.

"Sounds like Joey Notaro," said one of Mikey's crew.

Mikey nodded. Joey was one of the young Turks, the bastards who thought they knew how it should done, how things should be run, and had no respect for the older generation.

"And now we are going to teach you a lesson for taking jobs like this," said Mikey. "I hope it makes an impression on those that are left alive."

He nodded and the four men out a bullet in the back of the four young African American males. Mikey viewed the area in front of the bodies. There was blood and brain matter. Mikey laughed.

"I think we've created modern art," he laughed.

NCIS

Ziva left him to go to her place on Sunday afternoon. She wanted to exercise, shower, and sleep she told him. He didn't put up an argument because he knew he had some things to do before talking to Fornell tomorrow and the first one was make a call to his cousin Allegra DiNozzo.

Allegra worked as a lawyer for one of the larger law firms in DC. Although he kept little contact with her and her brother Father Francis, he did use her as his lawyer when he wanted to make changes to his will or any other legal documents. He took out his smart phone scrolled through his phonebook until he found her number then he called her.

"_Allegra DiNutso_," the pleasant voice answered.

"It's Tony," he said simply.

"_Oh, Tony, it's been two years since you called me last. I've missed you. How are you_?" she asked. "_Father Francis only gets to talk to you when you go to confession_."

"You know why I don't call, Allie," he said. "There are those in the Family who would frown on the fact that you are talking to him."

"_I don't care, Tony. I'm Carlo's daughter and he has nothing to do with the business_," she said.

"Allie, I'm the black sheep in a family that doesn't treat black sheep well. I know well enough not to increase my flock," he said.

"_Tony_," she started to protest.

"Allie, I need some changes to my will," he said.

"_Why_?" she asked getting worried.

"I'm going to New York as part of Organized Crime Task Force," he told her.

"_I thought you said yes to the Navy job because it would mean you'd never have to deal with the Families again. Why_?" she asked.

"I'm just a lucky bastard, Allie," he said.

"_Oh, Tony, don't do it. Don't go to New York. You know all that it's going to do is cause trouble for everyone, but especially for you_," she said.

"Sorry, Allie, but it's my job," he said.

NCIS

Gibbs was in his basement in a NIS sweatshirt and jeans working on his latest incarnation of a boat. He was painstakingly shaping the wood for the hull when he heard the telltale sound of Tony's shoes walking up stairs. When he heard the door to the basement open he refreshed his coffee with some bourbon then poured a generous amount in a mason jar for Tony. As he reached the basement floor Gibbs held out the jar for Tommy to take.

"Hey, boss," Tony said then took the jar and smelled the bourbon.

His preferred hard liquor drinks was scotch but he was starting to get used to bourbon. _Next, all I need to do is blow my relationship with Ziva and then starting building boats. _

"Why are you here, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked to push things forward.

"I'm not allowed to visit anymore, boss?" asked Tony.

"My door is always open, Tony, but you're here for a purpose. What is it?" he said.

"I came to ask you a favor," Tony said then he took a sip of the bourbon.

"Shoot," said Gibbs.

"You know I know two things really well, actually four things if you add sex and sports, but two things that would affect you," Tony started.

He was feeling uncomfortable making this request but he knew he had to make it. More than anyone else he knew Gibbs knew him, maybe even understood him. If his behavior was going to change, Gibbs needed to know it was for a reason.

"Tony," sighed Gibbs pushing him along.

"I know cops and I know the Mafia. One I became and the other I was born into," he said.

"Okay, still doesn't explain why you are here," said Gibbs.

"You didn't know me in Philly. Two years undercover with the Macaluso Family. Some of the FBI and Philly police that I went native for a while there, especially when it got out that I was being groomed for Don. Fornell knew me then. He was part of the FBI team. You see I remember him, even though he didn't play a big role because he argued against pulling me when everyone else wanted to because they thought I became a mobster. Fornell saw that was playing a role and playing it so well that I fooled everyone, except myself," he explained.

"I know your good at undercover, Tony. What's this about?" Gibbs asked starting to get concerned.

"I need you to trust me when I get too New York, Gibbs. You see there will be times that I don't act like myself. There will be times you are wondering what I am up to, but I need you to trust me and know that I know what I am doing," Tony implored Gibbs. "I understand cops and Mafia and I understand the way to really get the Mafia is to think, drink, eat, and act like them. Most cops act like jamooks when they'd get more acting like a compare, a goombah. If I'm going to do this then I'm going to do everything I need to do to beat them."

"Is this about beat them, Tony, or stopping them?" asked Gibbs, as he sipped his coffee.

"Boss, it's always about beating them at their game. If they are trying to intimidate you then you have to out intimidate them; if they use charm then you use charm and if it's sex, you show them that sex isn't anything more to you than fucking," he said.

"Tony, I trust you," said Gibbs.

"Will you trust me even you think I've might crossed a line or I do something you don't understand?" he asked Gibbs.

"Tony, I know you. I'll always trust you," said Gibbs, as if it was that simple.

Tony took another sip of his drink: "Thanks, boss. I needed to hear that from you."

"Make sure your partner trusts you," said Gibbs.

"If I know Fornell he's going to want to work with me and we've talked about Ziva having my back. At least there'll be two people around who kind of get me," he said.

"How much danger will you be in when we get to New York?" asked Gibbs.

"At times a lot and at other times, the danger will be more subtle. My father hates me. He wouldn't mind attending my funeral, but my Uncle Vincent, who is the Don, well, he'd like me back in the Family. For reasons I don't understand he has a soft spot for me," explained

"Head on swivel and protect you six," Gibbs said.

It was combat advice, which Tony liked because this was like going into combat for him. Going to New York was his field of battle and chances were not great that he'd come out of it unscathed. He finished off his bourbon and looked at his boat.

"Your boat reminds me of Bogey's in the _African Queen_," Tony said.

"Anything else, Tony?" asked Gibbs.

"No, boss," he said.

"I'll get back to my boat," said Gibbs, who picked up the wood he was bending when Tony began his visit.

Tony placed his now empty mason jar down and headed up the stairs. He was ready to talk to Fornell then it was time for New York.

NCIS

Tony sat at his desk finishing up some paperwork. Ziva had her head down busy with finishing up her paperwork before they got the go ahead to leave for New York. Gibbs was down with Abby trying to explain to her why she couldn't come with them to New York, while McGee working on his computer. Tony felt a presence staring at him, so he lifted his head to see Fornell standing there with a grin on his face.

"DiNozzo, care for a coffee while we talk?" he asked.

"Sure, Fornell," said Tony.

He got up and straightened his suit then grabbed his trench coat. Looking over at Ziva, he saw that she had finally lifted her head. Her chocolate brown eyes looked at him with concern.

"Officer David, tell Gibbs I've gone for coffee with Fornell," he said to her.

"Okay, Tony," she said.

He and Fornell headed off. They settled into a booth in a dinner not too far from the Navy Yard. A waitress came over to them. She was comely about forty with dyed blonde hair.

"I'll have a coffee, black," said Fornell.

"Okay, lovey," she said then turned to Tony. "And you, sweety?"

Fornell watched as the waitress almost purred talking to Tony.

"I'll have a coffee, light four sugars and a bagel toasted with cream cheese," he said.

"Be right back with your coffees," she said.

"Do all women react that way to you?" Fornell asked.

"Not all," smiled Tony.

"Director Shepard will be talking to you as a group before you leave," Fornell started. "The SecNav is excited by the MCRT participation in this Task Force. I voiced my concern with you being on Gibbs' leash. They understood what I was I talking about, so you are going to be temporarily in charge of the team when we get to New York. This way you have room to operate. Director Shepard is probably telling Gibbs this now."

"You didn't need to do that, Fornell, I've already talked to Gibbs about things," said Tony.

"I saw you in Philly, Tony. For a while there I was afraid I was looking at one of the most dangerous potential Dons in a long time. You had it all, brains, ruthlessness, cunning, and instincts. Then I realized it was looking at some undercover cop who lost his way and thought he was the role he played, but I was looking at who you could have been. I argued to give you rope when everyone else wanted haul your ass in and put you in therapy. Not me. I knew you were in control, even when you put the bullets in Delvecchio's knees," Fornell explained. "You knew exactly what you needed to do to keep your cover without completely going over the line."

"Delvecchhio was a bad cop who was on the take and who raped a sixteen year old," said Tony. "He's lucky I didn't put a bullet in his brain."

"I know," smiled Fornell.

The coffees and bagels came.

"Anything else I can get you?" the waitress asked.

"Maybe later," smiled Tony.

She returned the smile and went to her next table.

"Delvecchio deserved what he got and his wounds were considered justified," said Fornell.

"How did you know it was me who kneecapped him?" asked Tony. "He'd never say a damned thing."

"Anyone else in the crew that night would have killed him. Only you would have kneecapped him then convinced the boys who had given a punishment worse than death," said Fornell. "The guy in Philly is the guy I need in New York."

Tony bit into his bagel. _At least in New York I'll get better bagels, ones that you don't even have to toast to enjoy. _

"Gibbs is going to be pissed," said Tony.

"Take advantage of that and give him something to do that fits his skills," said Fornell then he reached into his pocket and took out three photos that had recently been printed up.

He handed the photos to Tony. The photos were of four young African American men lying on a warehouse floor with the front of their skulls blow open and their blood and brains on the ground. They killed execution style.

"A Message," said Tony.

"The bloodshed has begun. Sacks, Gibbs, McGee, even David, as well as some of the others on the Task Force can start here. I'm sticking with you. I want you to shake things up. I want you to be the guy I saw in Philly," said Fornell.

"You want to do more than stop a war; you want to bring further damage to the Five Families," said Tony.

"When my grandfather came to New York, he started a business, a small neighborhood store in Queens. It was a good business. The mob took it away from him because they wanted to use it as a front for some of their businesses. It destroyed my grandfather. My father ended up a doorman for one of those fancy buildings on the Upper Eastside. I ended up an FBI special agent. I have no love for the Families, Tony, and I know that you don't either," he explained.

"Okay…"

"Call me Tobias. We are going to work closely together," he said.

"Okay, Tobias. I promised Gibbs that I'd keep Ziva close to protect my six, but if she interferes with what we want to do then I'll have her Gibbs," he said.

"I've got three other agents on this Task Force who feel like I do. One is Salvatore Stabile. His brother was killed by mobsters in Chicago. Number two is Patrick Mullen. He's Irish, I know, but he has reason to hate the Irish mob and the Italian mob. He's the son of Paddy Mullen in South Boston…," Fornell was explaining.

"Number two for Red Foley. They gave the Italian mob a run for their money for a while in Boston," said Tony.

"Yeah, well, the retaliation cost him is father, his mother, and his sister. He'd like to bury both mobs," said Fornell.

"And number three?" asked Tony.

"Angela Manetti. Father was a New York cop who was killed by the mob," he said.

"Okay, they'll be five or six of in the Task Force to have our own agenda. Everyone else works this straight," said Tony.

"If all goes well, they'll pin medals on our chests," snorted Fornell.

"You're not doing it for medals and neither are any of the others," stated Tony.

"No. We are in this for the medals or the citations or promotions. This is personal," said Fornell.

"I agree."

"I'm setting up hotel arrangements for a long term stay. This is going to take weeks, maybe months. Our little group I was going to put in the Chelsea Hotel and they rest in a hotel in midtown the New Yorker. Should I put Ziva in with us?" Fornell asked.

"No," he said with a sigh. He knew she was going to suspect something, maybe even be angry with him, but they were going to put their lives on the edge. He didn't want that for Ziva. He was willing to be reckless with his own life but not with hers.

"I agree," said Fornell. "Gibbs is going to be growling like an angry grizzly."

"I've handled Gibbs and his moods," smiled Tony.

"He's protective of you. It's going to be hard to keep him out of this," said Fornell.

"Maybe," said Tony.

"You have an idea," said Fornell.

"Yeah, maybe," smiled Tony.

"What's your idea?" he asked.

"Remove the problem," said Tony.

NCIS

Tony walked into the bullpen and saw Ziva and McGee dutifully working in the way they did when they were dealing with the grizzly bear Gibbs. Gibbs was glaring at him. Tony decided to be preemptive.

"I just talked to Fornell, boss, so I know why you are angry," he said.

"DiNozzo," he said, but Tony cut him off.

"I'll talk to Director Shepard," he said and headed up the stairs and into Shepard's office without knocking.

She sat there in her chair with a raised eyebrow with her empress expression on her face. _I can see why Gibbs is still attracted to her, _thought Tony.

"And what do you want, Agent DiNozzo?" asked Director Shepard.

"I think I can make your life easier in the long term, Jenny," he said.

"How? Shoot a tranquilizer in the ass of Leroy Jethro Gibbs," she said.

"No. But remove him from this problem," said Tony.

"And what is that?" she asked.

"His need to protect me," he said. "Gibbs doesn't mind me acting as boss because he knows we all know who the boss is. He wants to have control over me so he can keep me out of trouble in New York."

"I agree. He is fond of you. Fonder than I've seen him with any of his other protégés, at least, the ones that were male," she smiled.

"Yeah, bossman, thinks of me as a son sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes," Tony said.

"What's your idea?" she asked.

"Talk to SecNav. Tell him that I am co-leading the Task Force with Fornell for the greater glory of NCIS, but I want to pick three agents who I'll work with on this," he said.

"And you aren't going to pick Gibbs, McGee, or David," she said.

"That's right. I don't want to put them in danger and they'll be in danger if they go to New York with me because their minds will be on protecting my six instead of doing their job. Let me pick who I take," he said.

"Fornell is willing to give you co-lead on this?" she asked.

"If you and SecNav accept my offer," he said.

She smiled: "He'll be angrier with you than with me."

"I know. I'll pay heavily for it when I come back, but at least they'll be safe," he said.

"I'll talk to SecNav. Who would you want in their place?" Jenny asked.

"Cassie Yates, Jim Goode, and Neal Moynihan," he said then paused and smiled. "I'll take his wraith, but if the SecNav agrees, I want you to tell the team. I want to be able to walk when I'm in New York."

"Deal," she said.

"Thanks, Jen," he said and started to walk out.

"Tony," she stopped him.

He turned and looked at her.

"Yes, Director," he said.

"Be careful. I do want you back in one piece," she said.

He smiled: "Yes, Director."


	4. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

Tony had arrived at the J Edgar Hoover Building to meet with Fornell at eight in the morning. The powers of an NCIS agent were mainly limited to Navy personnel. They could investigate and apprehend Navy personnel but civilians were outside of their jurisdiction unless it involved a Navy matter. They could assistant with civilian investigation in a support role. Both Fornell and Tony agreed that this was to limiting for his role in the Task Force, so after having his picture taken, fingerprinted, and interviewed by a psychologist, Fornell presented him with the paperwork to sign to temporarily transfer him to the FBI.

He sat at Fornell's desk and signed the paperwork and all the supporting copies. Once he was done Fornell held out a lockable sack and Tony placed his NCIS badge, ID, and service weapon in the bag. Fornell zipped it up and locked it then he handed it and the key to Tony.

"Give that to Director Shepard," he said.

"Yeah," he replied.

Next Fornell handed him an FBI badge, ID, and Glock 22.

".40 caliber and fifteen rounds in the clip," Fornell said. "I think you can handle it."

Tony checked the sidearm and then holstered it and attached it to his belt. He then clipped the badge to his belt and put the new ID in his pant pocket.

"You are now temporarily FBI," he said.

"I feel strange," Tony said.

"More powerful, more authority?" asked Fornell.

"No, suddenly, I feel the urge to wear bad suits and matching sunglasses," he said.

"Very funny, DiNozzo," Fornell said.

Tony checked his watch.

"It's eleven. Jenny must have told them by now. I'm almost afraid to go back to NCIS," Tony said.

"Now you know how I feel," smiled Fornell.

"So, it's an FBI thing," chuckled Tony. "Does Sacks know that I'm FBI and co-lead of this Task Force?"

"Not yet," Fornell smirked, "I thought you might like to tell him."

"No, you can do it. Just take pictures," said Tony, who ten stood up. "I might as well get this over with."

"Good luck," offered Fornell.

NCIS

The meeting with Director Shepard didn't go well. When she explained that the MCRT was out of the Task Force, except for Tony, and that he had replaced them with Cassie Yates, Agent Goode, and Agent Moynihan, Gibbs went ballistic and Ziva went deadly quiet. Now the angry grizzly bear sat glaring at Tony's empty desk, while the assassin also sat glaring at Tony's empty desk.

McGee didn't know whether to worry about Tony's life or enjoy the bloodshed when it happened. He was kind of looking forward to going to New York and was completely thrown for a loop when he found out Tony had them removed from the Task Force. It just didn't make sense. He knew Tony trusted Ziva with his life and trusted Gibbs more than anyone else in the world.

The _ding _announced the elevator and two heads snapped their attention in the direction of elevator. McGee thought he saw laser beams coming out of Gibbs' eyes and steam wafted off of Ziva's head.

"DiNozzo," growled Gibbs, as Tony in a black Armani suit and Burberry raincoat entered the bullpen.

Tony looked over at Ziva and felt his life was in danger. He walked over to his desk and put his locked bag on his desk. Before he could speak in defense of himself Ziva spoke up: "Your explanation better be good enough to save your life because I am in the mood to hurt someone."

"Okay, listen. I told you I'd fix everything and this is my solution. I decided this was far too dangerous to involve my team, my family," he started to explain.

"So, it is okay to put Cassie Yates, Agent Goode, and Agent Moynihan in danger but not us," seethed Ziva.

"I can control them. I can't control you guys," he said. "They are going to remain NCIS agents on the Task Force and take only a support and investigative role. You guys would have stuck your neck out to protect me and I can't have that."

"What do you mean that they are remaining NCIS agents? What did you do, Tony?" growled Gibbs.

"Um, boss, I, um, I've temporarily transferred to the FBI so that I can co-lead the Task Force with Fornell," he said.

Gibbs stood up. Tony thought it actually hurt to look into his grey blue ice cold eyes.

"My office now!" he ordered then strode out of the bullpen.

Ziva smiled knowing that he was going to get his ass kicked. Tony looked at her and sighed then followed Gibbs into the elevator. All agents stayed away as Gibbs slapped the button for the doors to close then slapped the emergency stop button. He took a few moments to gain control of his temper then spoke: "Do you know what you are doing, DiNozzo?"

"Yes, boss, I do," he said.

"Explain it to me," he ordered.

"I am going to New York on a Task Force that will more than likely put me in direction conflict with my family. This means I'll be putting my life in danger," he said.

Gibbs exhaled and relaxed the muscles in his shoulders: "Don't you trust us? Don't you trust me?"

"With my life, boss," he said.

"How can I believe that based on your actions?" he asked.

"It means that I value your lives, Gibbs, more than you realize. I refuse to be the cause of injury to either you or Ziva or Probie," he said.

Gibbs heard the sincerity in his voice and knew there was no way of changing his mind.

"Tony, you should trust us to do the right thing," he said.

"I do. But I don't trust my family, especially my father. If he knew how I felt about you or how I felt about Z…," he paused not wanting to admit any more. "My father exploits emotions and weaknesses. Love is a weakness to him."

"So, you take it upon yourself to protect us," he said.

"Yes. It's what you taught me to do," Tony said.

"Damn it, Tony, you better not get yourself killed or I won't be able to hold Ziva back from taking out the whole Genovese Family," he said then turned off the emergency stop, "because I'll be too busy helping her."

"I'll be careful, boss," he said trying to hide a smile.

They stepped off the elevator and started to walk back to the bullpen when suddenly Gibbs wheeled around and got in his face. In a low, even voice he said: "If you need us, you call me. If you even think you need us, you call me. I'll be there as soon as I can. Understood?"

"Yes, boss," he said.

Gibbs then turned and went into the bullpen went to his desk and grabbed his coat. He needed fresh air. His senior field agent was walking into a danger zone for him, but he wasn't taking his team. Gibbs wasn't happy.

"I'm getting a coffee," he said.

He then left leaving Ziva and McGee staring at Tony.

"I think I'll go down and talk to Abby. She needs my help with something or other," said McGee.

He got up and left leaving Tony with Ziva.

"Did Gibbs accept your reason for your actions?" she asked.

"In his way," he said. "He knows I did this to protect the people I love."

Ziva looked at him and her eyes seemed to melt a little.

"What about the man I love, who protects him?" she asked.

"Fornell, the FBI, God," he said.

"When do you leave?" she asked.

"Tomorrow," he answered.

"We will talk tonight then," she said then got up. "I need tea."

Ziva walked out of the bullpen leaving Tony alone.

"Yeah, that went well," he sighed.

NCIS

Tony stood in front of the open closet door and reviewed his suits and shirts and shoes decided which to take with him. He had to admit he'd spent a lot of money on his wardrobe. Made men with style in the mafia like to do something called wearing it. This meant showing off one's status by dressing the part, which meant an Italian suit, pinky ring. Pocket square, expensive watch, silk socks, and gold cufflink. Tony had his own way of wearing it and he enjoyed it.

"Aren't you packed yet?" Ziva asked from the bedroom door scaring Tony to the point he almost drew his sidearm.

"Jesus, you scared the shit out of me," Tony said.

"If I didn't love you I would do worse to you than scare you tonight," Ziva said. "You are wrong to have done that to us. We are a team and should go to New York as a team."

"Still angry, huh?" he remarked then went back picking his clothes.

She walked over to him, grabbed his right arm and forced him to face her. Tony didn't want to fight. For a few moments they stared into each other's eyes. He saw angry and desire, which suited him fine. Maybe he could exploit her desire for him. Instead of talking he grabbed her face and devoured her mouth. Her reaction to this was to hip toss him onto the floor.

"If you get yourself injured, Tony DiNozzo, I will never forgive you," she growled then she offered him her right hand to help him up.

Tony put his hands letting her know he gave up then rolled onto his side and got up without her help.

"Okay, ninja, I give up. You and Gibbs are mad at me. I've made a mistake. I got it. I fucked up," he exhaled. "I'm still glad you're not coming with me. You said it yourself: you learned about terrorists not the mafia. Well, we are going to be dealing with the mafia and I don't really think you know just how serious and dangerous they are."

"I am not afraid of them," she said.

"Again that makes me glad you aren't coming. You should be afraid of them, Ziva. Damn it, I'm afraid of them and I'm supposed to be their fucking blood family," he said letting more emotion out than he wanted to.

"I should be there with you, Tony," Ziva said.

"Ziva, if my father knew how much I loved you, he'd use you against me," he said. "Now I know that you know how that feels."

She remembered the photos Officer Bashan showed of Tony and her when she was framed for murder. There was an implied threat against Tony in those photos. Deputy Director David of the Mossad loved subtle threats. The implied threat and Gibbs coming back led her to back away from Tony until they just started renewing their relationship. She understood what he was talking about.

"I don't want him using you against me, Zi," he said.

"If you are gone longer than three weeks then I expect to be allowed to visit or two," she said.

"Really? A romantic weekend in New York with me?" he smiled.

"A weekend, yes. The romantic part is up to you," she said.

"I think I can do that," he said.

"Good," she said then gave him a kiss on his cheek. "Now it is time for you to pack."

"I have to pack some suits," Tony said.

"Showing off?" asked Ziva.

"Out styling the mafia is important, Zi," he said.

Ziva smirked. He noticed.

"Okay, make your comment," he said.

"No," she purred.

"You were going to make fun of my suits. You know you want to," said Tony.

"No," she said again.

"I know you, Zi. You don't understand the intimidation factor a well cut, expensive suit," he said.

"I was just thinking that I prefer you without a suit on," she smiled slyly then glanced at the bed.

"Are you trying to seduce, Mrs. Robinson?" Tony quoted from _The Graduate_.

"Yes," she smiled.

"You had me at hello," he quoted _Jerry Maguire_ then took her in his arms, picked her up, and dropped her on his bed.

He dropped down on the bed beside her and started kissed her.

"Are you going to miss me?" she asked.

"I haven't even left yet and I miss you, Zi. I love you," he moaned as he nibbled on her neck.

"Less talk more action," she mumbled.

NCIS

After a corned beef and tongue sandwich Franco Moretti exited the New York Deli on 57th Street at four in the morning. Adjusting his overcoat he stood outside of the deli with Rocco and Hank, his two bodyguards and greeted a navy blue sky which was slowly turning a lighter blue.

"Notaro is a cafone," said Moretti. "He is a dead man. All we have to do is find him and bury him."

"Some say he is workin' for Tommy Scalia," said Rocco.

"Scalia is an empty suit, a real pucchiacha," Moretti snorted.

"If Notaro sent the button men after DiNutso on his orders of Scalia and off the record then he ain't no empty suit but he is a dead man," said Rocco.

"Where's the fucking limo?" asked Moretti.

"Don't know, boss. He's supposed to be here," said Hank.

"He probably went and got a hummer from a street walker while we ate," said Rocco.

"He's fucking fired if I don't see his ass and my limo soon," said Moretti.

A black Lincoln Town Car Limo with tinted windows slowly made its way down 57th Street. The limo stopped and a man in a black suit and a FN P90 compact assault rifle got out.

"Oh, fuck," said Rocco, who knew exactly what was to happen next.

The magazine of the FN P90 holds fifty rounds. At least forty of those founds ended up in Rocco, Hank and Moretti. The driver got back in his limo after smiling at a CCTV camera and drove away leaving the three men to bleed on the cold sidewalk. By the afternoon he'd be on his way to Rome and from to Sicily. A year or two away from New York then he'd be able to return without a problem. It was a small price to pay for the money he was paid and the offers he'd received when he returned.

NCIS

Tony, Fornell, along with Angela Man, Sal Stabile, and Patrick Mullen landed at LaGuardia Airport. The rest of the Task Force was taking a later plane. After whisking through TSA with the use of their badges and ID they collected their luggage and rented two SUVs to drive into Manhattan and their hotel.

When they arrived on 23rd Street and stopped in front of the red brick and wrought iron balcony façade of the Chelsea Hotel, Tony smiled at the thought of federal agents staying at such a bohemian hotel. This was the hotel of beatniks, punk rockers, actors, Warhol factory hangers on, and literati. Five federal agents staying there was like hiding costume jewelry among diamonds. It made him smile.

Fornell checked them in and handed out keys with Mullen and Stabile sharing a room and Fornell, Angela Manetti and Tony getting their own room. Entering the room Tony immediately walked to the French door that opened onto the balcony and threw them open letting brisk air into the room. With the doors open he could hear the cacophony of noises which made up NYC. From cars, car horns, yelling, singing, song, clatter, and the cries of humanity, it all sort of bundled up into one long, almost nonstop city soundtrack.

With the soundtrack of New York to entertain him, he started to put away his suits and clothes. Once that was done, he started to get dressed for the evening. Fornell and his people wanted to keep a somewhat low profile, especially with their meeting with the NYPD Organized Crime Task Force in the morning, but Tony wanted to announce he was there.

He chose a Ermenegildo Zegna no stripe two button wool black suit with a light blue custom made shirt, a grey silk tie, grey silk pocket square, gold and onyx cufflinks, and an Emporio Armani stainless steel bracelet watch. For shoes he chose a pair of Berluti in black along with his Burberry raincoat. There was a knock at his door. He opened to see Fornell standing there.

"Where are you going?" asked Fornell.

"It's Monday. Sonny Faso, a caporegime of the Genovese Family, has a standing table at Rao's. I'm crashing dinner," said Tony.

Fornell smiled: "This is why I wanted you for this."

"I know," said Tony.

"I want Pat Mullen to go with you. He's a tough son-of-a-bitch and he knows the terrain like you," Fornell said.

"How tough?" asked Tony.

"Golden Gloves champ, expert shot with a sidearm, and a fucking Celtic crazy bastard, who is loyal if he likes you," Fornell said.

Tony nodded yes. Fornell turned and yell: "Mullen!"

Two doors down the door opened and out stepped Mullen in a black Armani suit, white shirt, blue silk tie, and his ginger hair combed back and kept in place with mousse. Tony had to admit he looked like a successful Irish hood.

Mullen walked up to Tony and shook his hands. He was two inches shorter than Tony at six foot, but where Tony's body was athletic and lean with a need for a little exercise, while Mullen was hard as a rock and chipped from marble.

"I heard about you. Good to meet you," he said.

"Grab your overcoat. You and I are going to Rao's. Now I know I'll get a meal but I don't think they'll let you sit at the table," Tony said.

"Mick haters. I understand. Every WOP I ever met in Boston was a Mick hater once they found out who my father was. I'll sit at the bar and prove to them the stereotype is a reality," he smiled.

"We'll grab a cab," said Tony and then slap him on the back.

Rao's was on 114 Street and Pleasant Avenue. It first opened in 1896 and has been the spot for certain types of people ever since. It was an unassuming and smallish place with only ten tables and only one serving for the evening. The cab left them all in front of Rao's.

Getting out of the cab Tony took off his Burberry raincoat then fixed his suit. Mullen watched.

"I feel like you are my date the way you primp," said Mullen.

"I have the feeling Fornell is going to partner us up a lot so get used to it," said Tony.

"Two mobsters sons who are federal agents, it makes sense to me. We are either the dirtiest feds in the US or the cleanest feds in history," he smiled.

"I like to get donuts for free and weasel out of parking tickets," said Tony.

"Not paying for tickets isn't dirty, it a perk of the job," Mullen said.

"Well, show time," Tony smiled.

The entered Rao's and were first struck by the mouthwatering smells emanating from the kitchen followed by the low to medium hum of conversation. The maître d' gave them a quick perusal and then smiled. They had passed some test that they were unaware of.

"Gentlemen, I know you don't have a table for the night, but you can have drinks at our bar," he said.

"Non ti preoccupare," said Tony.

"Davvero!" said the maître d'.

"Si," smiled Tony.

Then Tony walked over to where he saw Sonny Faso sitting there with four of his men. Tony walked over to the table and stopped and stared. It took a moment for Sonny to look up and recognize him.

"Fuck me," Sonny said.

"You're not my type, Sonny," he said.

"Boys, this is Anthony DiNutso, Junior," Sonny said.

"Ain't he some kind of cop?" said one of Sonny's crew.

"The four of you, get up and go to McDonald's. Tonight I eat with a childhood friend and," Sonny looked at Mullen, "his Mick fed associate."

Without argument the men got up and left. Tony and Mullen sat down.

"Wine, scotch, whiskey, vodka, whatever you want, the night is on me," said Sonny.

"Whatever you're having," said Tony.

There was fresh bread in the middle of the table and small little dishes. Tony took the bottle of olive oil that sat on the table and poured some it into the small dish then took small of the bread and dunked it into the olive oil and ate it.

"Same," Mullen finally answered after watching Tony. "Is that good?"

"Bene," smiled Tony.

Mullen ripped some bread and dunked it in Tony's small dish of olive oil. He sampled.

"That is delicious. Best olive oil I ever tasted," said Mullen.

Sonny waved over the waiter: "Three Crown Royals on the rocks. Also, I'll give you our order now. We'll have the baked clams oreganate followed by the fish alla puttanesaca and whatever pasta you think goes best with that."

"Yes, sir," the waiter said and hurried off.

"So, Tony, are you oobatz coming back to New York unannounced?" Sonny said. "What are you thinking, or are you thinking?"

"Franco got whacked," Tony said.

"Yeah, good for the Gambino Family. Maybe they'll end up with a real capo this time," said Sonny.

"Off or on the record?" asked Tony.

"The hit was neither sanctioned or done by us. We afraid this fucking wild card named Tommy Scalia is behind the hit. He's making some kind of move, but it ain't going to go well for him," said Sonny. "Though, I have to admit that he has some talent working for him."

"Maybe we'll end up taking care of him for you," said Tony.

"Come to stir things up, huh?" said Sonny

"I always said I'd never come back` unless I had a reason," said Tony. "I have a reason now."

"Franco gets whacked and Vincent and your father almost get whacked and now you are here. I'm not stupid. You should leave," said Sonny.

Their drinks and clams arrived. Sonny motioned them to eat as he grabbed a couple of clams.

"So Irish, what do you have to say?" asked Sonny.

"Good clams," answered Mullen.

"You a tough guy?" asked Sonny.

"We'll see about that," said Mullen.

"I like the answer," smiled Sonny then he looked at Tony. "Keep him close. You better have someone protecting your back at all times. I hate to admit but we have more back shooters these days."

"And I have a lovely back?" smiled Tony.

"Sorry, Anthony," he said.

"You telling me, Sonny, that I can't trust my own family," smiled Tony.

"We both know your father hates you. Fatti gli affari tuoi," said Sonny.

"This is my business, Sonny," said Tony.

Mullen finished his calms: "Where the fuck is the main course because I'm hungry?"

Sonny looked at Mullen like he wants to smack.

"I can read you mind," smiled Mullen. "You may be some mooks caporegime, but you're not mine, you dry shite."

Sonny looked at Mullen closely: "What's your name?"

"Patrick Mullen," he answered.

"There was a tough Irish mobster by the name of Paddy Mullen, do you know him?" he asked.

"My father," smiled Mullen.

Sonny looked at Tony then back at Mullen and chuckled: "The sons of mobsters as feds and now you are partners. That's fucking rich. Some jamook is going to get a two for one deal and put bullets in the back of your skulks."

"Sounds Italian – the back of my skull," said Mullen. "Tell them I want mine in my forehead. I want to see it coming."

"Your father is smooth and cold as ice, Anthony, and yours I heard was as tough as steel, Mullen. Too bad you two decided to play it straight in life," Sonny said.

"Listen, Sonny: Col tempo la foglia di gelso diventa seta," smiled Tony.

"Irish here, don't speak Italian," said Mullen.

"Time and patience turn the mulberry leaf to satin," said Tony.

"What the fuck does that mean?" asked Mullen.

"It means, Anthony, has no intention of backing down," said Sonny.


	5. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

Even though the dinner was delicious, it left him with agita. His stomach burned with sourness from his conversation with Sonny. As he and Mullen walked up the spiral stairs of the Chelsea to the fifth floor, Tony reviewed in his head what Sonny had told him.

"So, you going to tell Fornell about this Tommy Scalia?" asked Mullen interrupting Tony's thoughts.

"Yes," he answered.

"I don't trust Sonny," said Mullen.

"You shouldn't. I can up to a point, but only up to a point," said Tony, as they arrived at the fifth floor landing.

They opened the door to the fifth floor and walked down to Fornell's hotel and knocked on the door. He opened the door wearing a sweater that looked like his daughter gave him as a gift and jeans.

"The two of you get changed into clothes that don't make you look like dandies and I'll debrief you over a beer somewhere," said Fornell.

"Sure, Tobias," said Tony.

"Okay, boss," added Mullen.

Tony slipped into a pair of jeans, OSU tee shirt, a zip up cashmere hoodie, and a suede jacket to go with his badge and Glock. They chose Gramercy Tavern on E 20th Street because it was within walking distance and sounded like a place you could get a simple drink in. When the walked into the tavern section then the grabbed stools at the bar, Fornell whistled at the prices. It wasn't a place you could get a simple drink in.

"It's on me," said Tony. "Let me order and pay."

"I'm not arguing, DiNozzo," said Fornell.

"Thanks, Tony," said Mullen.

The bartender walked over to them and Tony waved him over to him.

"Three glasses of Hine, Triomphe," he ordered, "and the country pate, pickled vegetables, and Buckwheat crackers."

"Sure," he said then walked away.

"What are we getting to drink?" asked Fornell.

"Very good, very expensive cognac," he answered.

"I guess it's better than bourbon," Fornell shook his head.

"Next time you want beer and whiskey then let me pick the place," smiled Tony.

"So, how did dinner go?" asked Fornell.

"Tommy Scalia. They believe he is behind Franco Moretti's death," said Tony.

"Who is this Scalia?" asked Fornell.

"I'll ask around," said Tony. "I don't really know him."

"So it looks like the Young Turks are looking to take over the Families and bring them back to their halcyon days," said Fornell.

The bartender placed their cognacs in front of them then left and returned quickly with their appetizer. Tony reached for a cracker and spread some pate on it. When he was a kid, no older than six years old, he sampled pate for the first time. He saw his mother eating it and demanded some. Oddly, enough he liked it. He remembered his mother's reaction: _Tony, you know that you have the palate of an aristocrat. Unfortunately, this is America so I'd also get used to pizza and fast food if I were you, too, my little prince. _

Fast food, pizza, and beer became his life and pate, life cognac and other high end delicacies became his dirty little secret, which he indulged in now and again while thinking of his mother. Sometimes he wondered what his life would have been like if his mother lived. She would have sheltered him from her father and pushed him towards her likes and dislikes. Instead of football and basketball it would have been more piano recitals and probably something like ballet. Instead of a military academy, he'd have gone to Andover Academy and the Ivy League and instead of police work and NCIS, he'd probably be a lawyer or good knows what.

"How should we handle the rest of the Task Force?" asked Fornell.

"Start them investigating the death of the four black gang members and Franco Moretti's murder," said Tony.

"And our little special group?" asked Fornell.

"This shit is delicious," Mullen remarked as he sampled his second cracker with pate. "My father is probably rolling in his grave with me eating this. He was a bologna and cheese and hot dog kind of guy."

Fornell looked at Mullen as if he was an idiot, but Mullen ignored it and tried the pickled vegetables next.

"Even this shit isn't bad," Mullen said then looked at DiNozzo. "Good choice."

Tony grinned then he answered Fornell question: "I want to prod Vincent into a meeting with me. I need to talk to him one on one so I can read him."

"How are you going to manage that since many in the Genovese Family want you dead?" asked Fornell.

"A trip into Hoboken to a Genovese Italian American social club to talk to some of the boys," said Tony.

"Why Hoboken?" asked Fornell.

"Cause if I went into Queens and did it, I might not come out alive," smiled Tony.

"Taking Mullen?" asked Fornell.

"Damn straight," said Mullen.

"Okay," smiled Fornell, "take Manetti with you, too."

"No," said Tony.

Fornell raised an eyebrow.

"Where I'm going a female agent will just get in the way, Fornell. Mullen and I can handle this," said Tony.

"What if Stabile and Manetti backup you up with surveillance?" asked Fornell.

"Fornell, until Mullen and I either end up battered and bruised or in the hospital, let's do this my way," said Tony.

"Jesus, I love this shit," said Mullen, as he ate more pate.

Fornell shook his head: "You two are a team. Shake things up and stay alive."

"I know we can handle at least half of that request," smiled Tony.

"I've got to apologize to Gibbs," sighed Fornell.

"Why?" asked Tony.

"I always thought his worrying about you was silly. Now I am starting to understand him better," Fornell drank his cognac.

"Gibbs would just give him a head slap and tell me not to get killed," said Tony.

"I owe Gibbs a bottle of bourbon," sighed Fornell.

"My father used to slap my head as a sign of affection," added Mullen.

"You two are well partnered," Gibbs said.

NCIS

Tony wore a Cerutti 1881 grey pinstripe suit with a light blue custom shirt, a blue and grey silk tie, gold cufflinks, grey pocket square, and a pair of Testoni black lace up oxford shoes. Wearing a black Burberry trench coat, he met Mullen, who was wearing a grey Brooks Brothers suit with a pink dress shirt and grey silk tie, out of the hotel. Mullen drove the SUV as they drove towards the Holland Tunnel.

Tony smiled as they drove to Hoboken. This was the birthplace of Sinatra, his favorite musical artist and the spot where _On the Waterfront_ was filmed. Sinatra sang a great many songs to heart breaking lost love in the fifties then he added the finger snapping playful songs to flirtation and conquest. Either paean to lost love or that exultation of love, Sinatra was his iPod choice. Plus, He loved Brando in _On the Waterfront_. Terry Malloy was a boxer with the soul of a poet and the brain of fourteen year old. He was wounded, stunted, and yet still heroic. No wonder he liked Brando's portrayal of Terry Malloy so much.

The Italian American Social club was located in what residents of Hoboken called the Presidential Streets. To be exact it was on Ninth Street between Grand Street and Adams Street right across from Columbus Park in storefront place that used to be a pizza parlor long ago.

Mullen parked the SUV and they both got out. Tony noticed a grey cargo van parked a few blocks away with what looked like a serious antenna. He nodded to Mullen.

"Cops. Probably New Jersey State Troopers, outside chance NYPD breaking boundaries," said Mullen.

"Fornell meeting with the NYPD Organized Crime Task Force today, we should have him talk to them about this," Tony said. "Right, Pat?"

"Patrick Joseph Mullen. Friends call me PJ," he said.

"Okay, PJ," he said. "Let's visit my people."

They walked to the door of the Italian American Social Club and Tony opened and walked in with Mullen on his six. The place was shabby, darkly lit and served coffee, espresso and hard liquor as the afternoon grew long. A quick scan showed a few older guys who were now filled with stories and not much else, a few mafia soldiers, a couple of associates, which mean they worked for the Family but they were made men yet, and there in the corner the caporegime with his personal crew. Tony knew this caporegime by reputation. His name was Bennie Buscetta, who had the demeanor and face of a pug, and he was thought of as a man who took orders and didn't make waved.

"Who are you?" asked one of the soldiers.

"Special Agent Anthony DiNutso, Junior," he stated, "and this is my partner Special Agent Patrick Mullen."

"DiNutso," said Buscetta.

"He's Anthony's kid," said one of the soldiers.

"Hey, junior," laughed one of the soldiers.

"Anthony DiNutso's kid hanging with a fucking Mick," said another one of the mafia soldiers.

"Well, things change. I usually don't like blowjobs from Italian women, but you're wife gives such great head," said Mullen with a big grin.

The soldier he insulted got out of his seat and started towards Mullen. Buscetta yelled: "Sit the fuck down. The Mick wants a fight, so he can bring feds in here."

"Hey, Bennie, you're smarter than you look, which would make you a moron," chuckled Mullen.

Tony closed his eyes and wondered if he was this annoying sometimes when he was with Gibbs and they were in a situation. _Yeah, I am. I knew I liked Mullen. _

"All I want to do is have a short conversation with you Bennie," said Tony.

"About what?" he asked.

"The fucking weather," Tony sarcastically spat.

"The yelp thinks he's got balls," said Bennie.

"Che bruta," Mullen spoke up.

Tony looked at him: "Really, PJ, about how ugly is he? By the way I thought you didn't know Italian?"

"I know how to get in trouble in Italian. I like to get in trouble in different languages," smiled Mullen.

"Well, you're definitely fluent in English," said Tony then he turned his attention back to Buscetta. "Listen I'm here for a Fed Task Force to put away people like you, but family being family I wanted to give Uncle Vinnie a heads up."

"This mother fucker wants a Moe Green Special," said Bennie's right hand man Mark Ferrara.

"Very fucking clever," smiled Tony then he looked at Mullen. "Moe Green Special."

"Think he's seen _White Heat_ where Cagney stands on the giant gas tank and yells: Top of the world, Ma?" Mullen asked.

Tony smiled liking Mullen more and more each day: "I like that one."

"Come on, Bennie, let me fuck these two up," said the soldier with the hurt feelings.

"Listen you fucking skel, you couldn't fuck me up even if I was on a two week bender," Mullen goaded him.

The soldier went for Mullen, who stood there waiting for the attack. As soon as the man got close enough Mullen unloaded with a left to the gut followed by a right to solar plexus bending him over. Once he was bent over he brought his right elbow down on the base of his neck. The man collapsed to the floor.

Tony started to applaud him: "Come on, everyone, give the man a hand."

Tony stopped clapping then looked at Bennie: "You have to admit that impressive."

"Are you looking to die?" asked Buscetta.

"I'm looking to talk to Vincent. Tell him Tony wants to talk. He knows my number," said Tony.

"Kid, you are buying yourself a shitload of trouble," said Buscetta.

"Bennie, I bought that the day I born into this fucking Family," snarled Tony.

"I'll talk to Vincent," said Buscetta.

"Grazie," said Tony.

"Arrivederci," said Buscetta.

Tony and Mullen walked out of the social club. A light rain had started to fall making it feel colder than it was.

"That went well," said Mullen.

"You are fucking nuts," Tony said.

"I've been fighting since I got out of the womb. I fought Golden Gloves, I fought my father to go to college, I fought for grad school, and when the mob buried my father, I kicked the shit out of the first mobster I saw. Hell, when I became a Fed I had to fight my co-workers to trust Paddy Mullen's son," said Mullen. "At least, this time I'm fighting the right opponent."

"Believe me I know how you feel," said Tony, as he turned up his collar to the rain and walked back To the SUV.

"I guess that's why we make good partners," smiled Mullen as he followed.

NCIS

Ziva got a message from Officer Bashan the night before to come to the Israeli Embassy. The tone of his voice on her smart phone said it wasn't a request. First thing in the morning she called Gibbs and let him know she had to go to the embassy. He grunted an okay.

As she drove her red Mini-Cooper to the Embassy, her stomach churned. If she was being recalled to Israel she couldn't say no. But she would want to. She didn't want to leave her team, or Gibbs, or Tony. There was a time when her orders came and she left in hours without a thought or regret but those days were over.

Parking in the employee section, she entered in the back of the embassy where Officer Bashan was waiting for her.

"Ziva, Eli wishes to discuss an assignment with you," he said.

"What kind of assignment, Michael?" she asked.

"Kidon," he answered not sounding happy about it.

"On US soil?" she asked.

"Yes," he answered, as they walked to an elevator which they took down to the basement.

Once in the basement they continued to a high security door. Bashan used a key card to let him and Ziva in. They entered an operational control and command.

Bashan barked a few orders and the visage of Eli David, solemn, greying and stoic, came onto the screen. A slight smile creased his face when he saw his daughter.

"Ziva, I have a mission for you," he said.

"Yes, Abba," she replied.

"Malachi Ben-Gidon and Michael Rivkin are headed to America. You will team with them on an assignment to punish those who have hurt our country," he said.

"Yes, Abba," she said softly.

"One of the mafia five Families have been selling arms and munitions to a terrorist group. We want you three to find out which Family then cut the head off of the snake, kill their leadership," he ordered.

"But, Abba, you want us to do this on American soil," she said.

"Yes. I know there is an FBI NCIS Task Force working on dealing with these Families and your associate is co-leading it. I also now know that is was born into the Genovese Family. We missed that the first time we profiled him," he said.

"He was not a priority back then," she said.

"He is now. If he interferes with our mission, I told Michael to kill him," he said. "He is part of that trash, so I have no problem removing him if he becomes a problem."

"He is not part of the family. He turned his back on them when he was but twelve, Abba," Ziva defended Tony.

"Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo is a blood relative to men who may have sold guns and bullets and bombs used against our people. If he gets in the way of your mission, he dies. No argument," he said. "This is about protecting Israel and sometimes to protect Israel with have to punish abjectly those who have taken a hand against us. Do you understand, daughter?"

"Yes, Abba," Ziva said, as she tried to control her emotions.

"Malachi will lead, but Michael is under my order to take care of DiNozzo," Eli stated. "You will help find the truth then you can return to NCIS."

"Yes, Abba," she said.

"Shalom," was his final word and the screen went blank.

Bashan escort Ziva out of the C&C and into the empty hallway.

"I hope it does not come to Agent DiNozzo being killed. I know he is innocent. His only fault is being born into his family," said Bashan.

"A family which has ignored him and abused him and treated him like a stranger, but we will kill him because he is a blood relative. If it was Fornell who got in our way, we would remove him gently, but Tony we will kill," spat Ziva.

"It isn't fair, but blood has a deep mean to us. You know that, Ziva," said Bashan.

"If you were in my father's position, would you handle it the same way, Michael?" she asked him.

"No, Ziva, I would not. I would not have my men kill the man my daughter loved just because his Family may have hurt Israel," he said.

"Love? I do no…," she began to speak.

"Yes, you do love him. You did back when I showed you those photos of his visits to your apartment. You love this Anthony DiNozzo. I hope he survives this madness, though, your father is making it difficult for that to happen," said Bashan.

"I hope so, too, Michael," said Ziva. She thought about Tony. He was dealing with a family that hated him, wanted him dead, to be targeted now by her family in a way. She needed to somehow figure out a way to protect him, to protect the man she loved.

NCIS

Gibbs sat glaring at the TAD brought in to replace Tony while he was gone. McGee had been given the assignment to train him up, but so far all that they managed to do was piss Gibbs off. McGee over explained and Agent Hill took notes. Notes! _This wasn't school_, Gibbs thought. _You listen, watch and do not take notes. _

McGee had hill pull his chair over to his desk and then started giving him more lessons on the computer. _Is this a freaking grammar school? He is actually giving him lessons. DiNozzo, you better get home soon. _

Jenny Shepard walked into the bullpen and noticed Gibbs glaring at McGee and the TAD. She walked over to his desk.

"Thank God you can't kill with a look," she said.

"I miss DiNozzo," Gibbs said.

"I know, Jethro. You and Tony are NCIS legends. He is the only one to come through teaming with you as a pair then as your SFA in a team without either asking for a transfer, being fired, or having a nervous breakdown. He is meant to be your number two," she said.

"I don't like him in New York without proper backup," he said.

Jenny smiled then looked at Ziva' empty desk.

"Where is Ziva?" she asked.

"Had to go to the embassy today," Gibbs aid.

Just then Ziva stepped off the elevator and strode into the bullpen. Jenny knew her well enough to read her body language. She was stiff and overly controlled, which meant she was dealing with bad news. Ziva dropped her bag then looked at Jenny and Gibbs.

"I have to make a request for some time off," she said.

"What happening, Ziva?" Gibbs asked.

"I am going on an assignment for Mossad, Gibbs. I cannot say no. I am Mossad," she said.

"Just one assignment then back here?" asked Jenny.

"Yes, Director Shepard," answered Ziva.

"Well, that isn't too bad. Hopefully, it is a quick assignment," Jenny said.

"Length is indeterminate," she said.

"I'm losing my team and I don't like it on bit, Jenny," growled Gibbs.

"Not losing, Jethro, having them borrowed piece by piece," Jenny corrected him.

"Losing them," he retorted.

"Believe me, Gibbs, I do not want to go, but I have to. It is my duty. My father gave me my orders personally," said Ziva.

"Maybe this assignment will teach Eli that you belong here," said Jenny.

Ziva nodded.

"Do you want another TAD?" Jenny asked Gibbs.

His answer was a glare then he got up and stormed out of the bullpen.

"He is grouchy," said Ziva.

"He's missing, Tony," said Jenny.

"Oh," was Ziva's reply. She was missing him, too.

Jenny looked at her closely then smiled.

"I think that you are missing him, too. Is there something I should know, Ziva," Shepard smiled.

"No, Director, nothing I can talk about now," Ziva said.

"You know where my office is, Ziva, If you need to talk to anyone," said Jenny.

"Thank you, Jenny," she said then attempted a smile.

"I'm glad you and Tony have become close friends. I think you suit each other well," said Jenny, who then retreated back to her office.

NCIS

Fornell forced Tony into taking a meeting with him at One Police Plaza with some of the officers in the NYPD Organize Crime Task Force. Tony didn't want to have too much interaction with the NYPD. They were one of the few police departments he avoided when he was starting off as a cop because they were also a department that just didn't believe the son of Anthony DiNozzo and nephew of Vincent DiNozzo was capable of being straight.

Located on Park Row the building was a red rectangle that looked like it should house a government bureaucracy. They arrived at eleven in the morning and went through the security without a hitch and were led to a conference room on the fifth floor. They sat there waiting in the dull white room. Tony spun his chair around so he could stare out of the window.

Lt. Mike Folks and Det. Mickey Hatcher entered the conference along with Captain Dennis Lehan. Folks was in uniform while the other two were plainclothes.

"Fornell, I'm glad you came again today and you brought," he paused for a moment, "Agent DiNutso."

"DiNozzo. I pronounce it DiNozzo," said Tony.

"Still doesn't stop you from being Anthony the Gents kid," said Lehan.

"Anthony the Gent," repeated Tony. "Really, that's what you call him."

"Yeah, what do you call him? Dad," snarled Hatcher.

"I don't call him at all," said Tony then he looked over at the man.

Hatcher was a brute and he had the body and mindset for it.

"I don't like," Hatcher said to Tony.

"Is it my suit? It's Zegna," smiled Tony. "What's your Sears?"

"Fuck you, Wop," said Hatcher.

"Is this really necessary?" asked Fornell.

"No, it's not," said Lehan then he glared at Hatcher.

"Special Agent DiNozzo has never even had a hint of dirt to him. He keeps no association with his relative," said Fornell.

"Why is here then?" asked Lehan.

"Because he knows the players," said Fornell.

"How if he doesn't have an association?" asked Lehan who stared at Tony.

"Osmosis," answered Tony.

Lehan smiled.

"Who is Tommy Scalia?" asked Tony.

"He's an ambitious son-of-a-bitch. Some say that some of the Young Turks from each other Families have given him their loyalty. He wants to be a capo di tutti capi, boss of all bosses," said Lehan.

"What's the nut on him?" asked Tony.

"He's just crazy enough to succeed. He's got the men, they say he's made an alliance with the latest version of the Westies, the Irish mob in New York, and it said that one or two of the Families wouldn't mind seeing him taking down one of the big boys and succeeding. Gambino is big," said Lehan.

"And Genovese is the biggest," said Tony.

"Because of your uncle and father," added Hatcher.

"Yeah, well, you can't choose family," said Tony.

"I don't trust him," said Folks.

"You don't have to," said Fornell. "He works with me and I trust him enough to give him a free reign."

"Scalia was behind Franco's death and the failed job against Vincent and Anthony DiNutso," said Tony.

"The war has begun," said Lehan. "It only gets bloodier from here."

"Unless we crack down on things and start making arrests," said Fornell.

"Sounds easy. It ain't, though," Hatcher said.

"The Genovese Family is too damned well run and the Gambino family is going to end up with a better, smarter capo with Franco's death," said Lehan.

"It looks like the blood has only started to flow," said Fornell.

Tony spun his chair back around and stared back out of the window. He needed to talk to Vincent. _He better call me soon. _


	6. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Ziva showed up and checked in at the front desk of the Grand Hyatt at Grand Central Terminal. After being given a key card she headed to her room. She was surprised that they were being put up in such a luxurious hotel, but as she checked out her surroundings she realized it has tactical advantages. Within minutes they could lose themselves in the heart of Grand Central with its crowd and a variety of commuter and subway trains to take them away if need be.

Arriving at her room she let herself having refused a bellhop. Within moments of putting her bags down in a room, which she would have thought romantic if she was there with Tony, there was a knock on the door. Ziva pulled her Jericho, having left her Sig Sauer in DC, and checked who it. Malachi and Michael Rivkin were on the other side of the door. She let them into her room.

"Ziva," Malachi said as she entered.

Michael looked at the California King bed and smirked: "Ziva, do you need help in breaking in the bed?"

"Don't remind me of past mistakes, Michael," she hissed.

Malachi looked over at the Michael, who was darkly handsome and charming at times yet not his favorite officer to work with. He thought Michael was too undisciplined and willing to take short cuts. The fact he was on this mission was because he was willing to do anything Deputy Director David asked.

"Malachi, how do you want to get started on this?" asked Ziva.

"I am going to talk to a friend of mine at Interpol, who knows something about the Mafia in New York," said Malachi. "I'll get us some background intel to work from her on these Dons."

"How fucking pretentious these Mafiosos are," Michael chuckled. "They call themselves Dons and Godfathers and Capos. Little boys playing grown up games. I can't believe that we have to deal with these insignificants."

"Careful, Michael, and don't underestimate these people. They are dangerous. You might find yourself," Malachi paused to smile, "whacked."

"I shall start sniffing around for some information that may help us," said Ziva.

"And I will tag along with one of you, Ziva," Michael. "I enjoy protecting your backside."

"Not with me. I work alone," Ziva stated then she walked over to the window and look down on forty-second Street.

Tony was somewhere in the city and she wanted to find him before too much more time passed. She had to figure out a way to protect him from Michael and her father.

"You used to enjoy my company very much, Ziva," said Michael.

"You were right to use the past tense, Michael," she said coldly. "I was younger and stupid."

Michael's eyes narrowed in jealousy at her words, which Malachi noticed.

"Michael, go explore the city. I will call you when I have information to share," said Malachi.

"If I must go then I must go," he said then left Ziva's room.

Malachi faced Ziva: "He was your father's choice not mine, Ziva."

"My father would like to see me in a relationship with him again," said Ziva. "He likes Michael. He was happy when I was with Michael."

"I never understood that," he said. "Why did you ever have a relationship with him?"

"In hindsight, I don't understand it either," Ziva smiled. "Call it the undue influence of my father."

"So, what do you think of these five Families?" asked Malachi.

"They have been responsible for great moments of bloodshed in American history. From what I've read they can be quiet capable at what they do, which is make money, break laws, and kill," said Ziva.

"I agree," Malachi said.

"We have to be careful," Ziva said.

"Your friend Agent DiNozzo, he knows a great deal about them, doesn't he?" said Malachi.

"I assume so otherwise they wouldn't have made him co-lead on the Task Force," she said.

"Your father wants him dead. I think this silly and potentially dangerous," Malachi said. "It would be better if we talked to him, got information from him. Kill him and there will be an investigation."

"Gibbs will investigate and he will not stop until he finds the truth and I will…," she stopped.

_I will help him. If anything happens to Tony then I will help Gibbs take my father down, _she thought.

"I would like to see that Agent DiNozzo gets through this alive, Ziva," Malachi told her. "I have no grudge against him. As a matter of fact I think it is important that this DiNozzo lives."

"Why?" she asked.

Experience and years of Mossad training had taught not to trust. Her few years at NCIS she started to trust, started to believe that there were people you could count on no matter what happened, but Malachi wasn't NCIS. He was Kidon; he was Mossad. Yes, she was growing weary of Mossad.

"Because your father fears losing you to this Italian American Mafia prince. He is hoping that the Family that sold the weapons is the Genovese so he can kill off the Dinozzo clan, including the innocent federal agent who is fucking his daughter," said Malachi. "You are your father's blind spot. He'd rather sacrifice you than lose you."

"I do not believe what you are saying," she spat.

"Michael was forced on me because he is jealous of this Agent DiNozzo. He wants an excuse to kill him. I want to do my job efficiently and make sure that Mossad leaves no traces," said Malachi. "DiNozzo, your DiNozzo, dies then our fucking fingerprints will be all over this. Your father will be pushed out of office again and Israel will be weakened because of it. I won't allow that."

"I did not know you were such a patriot," Ziva said sarcastically.

"Just because of have acted with the cynicism of an assassin it doesn't mean I'm not an idealist, Ziva. I am. I will protect Israel and I will protect Eli from himself," said Malachi.

"I will give you my support, Malachi, until you prove a liar or a fool," said Ziva.

"Good enough," he said.

"They we have an agreement," she said and he nodded.

"Check around, do what you think best, and then check with your boyfriend. He may have information which can help us," said Malachi.

"Keep Michael away from him," said Ziva.

"I'll do the best I can. But remember that he is not really taking orders from me," he said then left her alone in her bedroom.

Ziva sat down on the bed. She was her father's blind spot. He either wanted her under his thumb or sacrifice. She didn't want to believe what Malachi said but it sounded like the truth. And he needed her. No, he probably wasn't lying.

She needed to see Tony, to touch him, and to talk to him. Gibbs, McGee, Ducky, Abby, Jenny, and especially Tony, she trusted them. Yes, she needed Tony right now. Yet, how much could she tell him before he saw her for the tool of the state she was. Would he listen to the truth and see her differently? Would he see her as a spy, an assassin, the sharp point of the spare that her father loved to wield?

NCIS

After dealing with the New York police Tony needed to vent. He left Fornell to begin the legitimate part of the investigation. Mullen being his temporary partner convinced him to go into the heart of the Westies territory to find out about their allegiance with Tommy Scalia. Tony met Mullen in the lobby.

"Thank God, jeans, shirt, and a leather jacket. I was afraid you were going to dress for your people not mine," laughed Mullen, who also wore jeans and a leather jacket.

"Believe it or not I think I have some Irish blood on my mother's side. Here name was Paddington," he said.

"Like Paddington fucking Bear," Mullen laughed.

"Yeah, like Paddington Bear," smiled Tony.

"We ate well with your people. With mine we should drink well," Mullen said.

Most of Hell's Kitchen had been partially gentrified or one racial group had replaced another, Latin Americans replaced the Irish. Yet, there were still a few spots for the latest incarnation of the Westies called their own. In this case it was a Blarney Stone on Tenth Avenue between 51st Street and 52nd Street.

The first thing Tony noticed when he entered was the smell of stale liquor and illegally smoked cigarettes. Mullen sized up the bar and immediately found the man he was looking for. He was sitting at a corner table with four men who looked to be linebackers for the New York Giants. The man had balding blonde hair and looked like he was a boxer at one stage with a thrice broken nose and scarred eyebrows. Eddie Collins viewed himself as the latest Celtic chieftain leading the Westies. Mullen he knew kind well; the Celtic warrior king. His own father liked to think himself another Brian Boru.

Mullen and Tony walked up to the table. The four linebackers were nursing beers, while Collins was having an Irish whiskey on the rocks. He looked at them like they were something he stepped in on his way to the bar.

"Eddie Collins, I heard you eat the scrapes off some Wops table," Mullen grinned.

He was combative and sometimes obnoxious, but Mullen was really growing on Tony.

"Who the fuck are you?" Collins asked.

"Special Agent Patrick Mullen and this is Special Agent Anthony DiNutso," Mullen said using the Italian pronunciation of DiNozzo.

"DiNutso, you related to The Butcher?" asked Collins.

"Uncle," said Tony.

"And you're a fed. How the fucking greasy have fallen?" laughed Collins.

His men laughed along with him.

"Look, Tony, this is what happens when the Irish inbreed," Mullen as he gestured at the table.

One of the linebackers got up from his chair to take down Mullen, but was met with a right quick elbow to the jaw and a left hook to the temple. He went wobbly legged then Mullen gave him a solid push and the linebacker fell into and out of his chair.

"Paddy Mullen from South Boston, you related to him?" asked Collins.

"Father," said Mullen.

"Yeah, you look like him. I saw him once in action with a I was twenty and spent a summer with living with a cousin in Southie," said Collins. "Father died… what is it… ten years now."

"Ten years," said Mullen.

"You three," Collins looked at his men, "pick up the overgrown pussy and drag him out back and leave him there."

"Sure, boss," said one of his men.

The got up and dragged the one Mullen knocked out away.

"You two sit down," Collins said then he looked at the bartender. "Jamey, bring a bottle of Jameson's and two glasses. We are going to do some serious drinking and talking here."

"Got it, boss," the bartender yelled in return.

For the next two hours they drank and talked. The bottle of Jameson's was emptied and replaced with another one was put on the table as a replacement.

"Do you ever fucking eat?" asked Tony feeling a little more drunk than he wanted to be.

"Get all the nutrients necessary in Irish whiskey," Collins said.

"I'm hammered," said Mullen.

"Listen, I've enjoyed our conversation and I'm glad you warned me about Tommy Scalia but I really don't give a flying fuck how you think I should run the business," smiled Collins.

"You're going to have your boys kick the shit out of us now to give us a lesson in manners, aren't you?" asked Tony.

Collins smiled deepened. He nodded towards some men at the bar.

"And you're going to use the excuse that we were two drunk feds and causing trouble, so you don't get into trouble," said Mullen.

"Not as dumb as you look," he laughed.

Mullen was up like a shot. He grabbed the front of his shirt with his left hand and started throwing hard right hands into his face doing as much damaged as he could in a short period of time. Mullen wanted to make sure Collins' remembered them.

Tony got up and noticed that six large men with potato faces were coming his way. He grabbed the chair he was sitting on and threw it at them, hitting one in the shins and taking him down. Knowing that it was impossible to avoid a beating in this situation, he decided to take them fight to them. He grabbed another chair and tossed it at them then ran and tackled two of them. His old football coach would have been thrilled to see that this the one-time quarterback still remembered how to tackle. In high school he played quarterback and safety. This was the tackle of a safety not a quarterback.

Mullen let the bloody faced Collins go and turned to see Tony struggle to get back up as two men were kicking him to keep him down. He grabbed the half full bottle of Irish whiskey like it was a club, walked over to one of them and crashed the bottle upside his head. The man screamed in pain and grabbed hold of his bloody ear. Mullen then proceeded to get into an exchange of punches with the other man.

The fight went on for about three more minutes, which was an eternity in barroom brawls. Finally, Tony was able to drew his sidearm and fire it at the large, long mirror behind the bar shattering it and scaring the shit of the bartender. The fight stopped. A blood faced Collins looked at the damage done and laughed.

"Not a bad showing by you two," he said.

What was meant to have been a one sided beating had turned into both sides looking worse for wear.

"Fuck you," said Mullen.

"I'm paying you a compliment," chuckled Collins. "Get out before we finish this fight ."

"Let's go, PJ," said Tony.

Tony didn't know what he looked like but Mullen had a bruised jaw, a nasty cut above his right eye, a bloody lip, and red and raw knuckles. Those were the visible signs of a fight. He could only guess at the black and blue marks over his body and potential damaged ribs.

"When we take down Scalia, I guess I see you again," said Mullen to Collins.

"You got a lot of your father in you, kid. Too bad you wasted it as a fed," said Collins.

Tony and Mullen stumbled out of the bar. It was seven in the evening and dusk had embraced the city. They attempted to wave down cabs, since they had taken one there. The two men used each other to support each other, as they waved at yellow cab after yellow cab. Finally, a cab with a Jamaican driver stopped for them.

"Ah, you two look bush," said the driver.

Tony looked at his hack license for a name.

"Laurence, Chelsea Hotel, please," he said.

"You a bit beat up and frass," Laurence said.

"We just got our asses kicked," Mullen growled.

"We did okay, PJ," said Tony.

"I hate losing a fight," hissed Mullen.

"Breathe easy, mon," said Laurence. "Any fight you can walk away from is tun up. How many men were there?"

"Six or seven," said Tony. "It was hard to tell after a while, too many fists and boots. The whole bar was sort of against us."

"You two should be swaggerific," laughed Laurence.

Laurence pulled up in front of the Chelsea. Tony pulled out a fifty and handed it to him through the security barrier.

"Keep the change," he said.

"To di worl, mon," Laurence smiled.

The two federal officers limped into the lobby of the Chelsea Hotel. Guests and long term residents alike stared at them. They managed to ignore the looks and made their way to the small elevator instead of the spiral staircase. Getting on the elevator they scared people from taking it with them.

Tony pressed five and the elevator jerked into motion.

"I wish we brought a bottle of whiskey with us," said Mullen. "I think alcohol poisoning would be a good idea tonight."

"I wish Ziva was here," mumbled Tony.

"Ziva?" he asked.

"Female friend," said Tony.

"Is she hot?" smiled Mullen then he quickly grimaced because it caused him pain.

"She's… she's something," Tony smiled then found himself grimacing in pain.

The elevator door opened and Fornell was standing there with Special Agent Angela Manetti and Stabile. When he saw the condition of the two federal agents his face became a mask of annoyance.

"What the hell happened to you two?" he barked.

"Westies," said Mullen.

"Jesus," he sighed. "You two take Mullen to his place and get him cleaned up and I'll take DiNozzo."

Stabile and Manetti grabbed Mullen, who smiled at Angela.

"Are you going to be my angel?" he said.

"Shut up, PJ, or I'll hurt you," she said.

"I might like that," he said and she slapped his ass.

Fornell helped Tony.

"Those two remind me of you and Officer David," said Fornell.

"Yeah, well, Ziva can kill ma'am me with a paperclip. I like playing with fire," he said.

"What happened?" asked Fornell, as he let them into Tony's room.

"Eddie Collins, the head of the new Westies, got us drunk then decided to teach us a lesson about telling him what to do," said Tony.

Fornell lowered him onto the bed.

"So Scalia and him are in bed together," said Fornell.

"Oh, yeah, they are," he said.

Fornell went into the bathroom dampened a towel with warm water then came in and gave it to Tony, who started to clean up his bloody face.

"This is going to get nastier, isn't it?" said Fornell.

"If the Westies are working with Scalia, oh, yeah," Tony said.

"You hear from your uncle yet?" asked Fornell.

"Not yet, but I expect to. Unlike my father, he doesn't want me dead. He actually like me for some reason," said Tony.

"You live a complicated life, DiNozzo," said Fornell.

"Oh, you have no idea, Fornell," Tony laughed.

"Do me a favor and try and not get maimed or killed otherwise I'll never hear the end of it from Gibbs. He likes you for some reason," said Fornell.

"The boss doesn't like me; he is used to me being around," said Tony.

Fornell smiled. He wondered if Tony didn't really see the truth that Gibbs thought of him as a son. The man was overprotective of him on some levels.

"You need anything?" asked Fornell.

"Sleep."

"I'll let you get it," said Fornell, who then left him alone.

Tony lay on the bed wishing Ziva was there to take care of him. On the whole he liked, if not preferred, the way Gibbs took care of him over the over nursing of Abby and over concern of Ducky. Gibbs growled at him, lectured him then made sure he was alright and stayed until he was sure that Tony was alright.

Yet, he had grown used to Ziva's concern for him. He let her past some of his walls and defenses. When she showed concern for him it didn't make him feel uncomfortable; it made him feel wanted because he knew that she wasn't one to like fussing or attention, either. He missed his ninja.

NCIS

Ziva had found out where Tony was staying. She found where the Task Force was headquartered at 26 federal Plaza. Waiting for Fornell to show himself, she followed him back to the Chelsea Hotel then waited across the street the doorway of a YMCA for Tony to show up. When he did show up beaten up with another agent, her heart started to beat more rapidly. She followed them into the hotel and watched as they got on the elevator then she watched as the elevator stopped on the fifth floor.

Staying in the shadows she waited several hours before she asked for Tony Dinozzo at the front desk and got a room number. Taking the spiral staircase up to the fifth floor, she picked the lock of his door and entered the room. He was sound asleep in his clothes and with the light on. She needed to know that he was alright. It was a strange compulsion that she felt for him and no one else. As she got close to him, she smiled as she smelled the whiskey on him. He was not waking up any time soon.

Taking the damp towel out of his hand, she cleaned his face some more then kissed his forehead. Carefully, she unbuttoned his bloody chambray shirt. When she had finished she saw the welts and bruises on his ribcage and abdomen and a flash of anger passed through her. She suddenly wanted to hurt those who hurt Tony.

"Ziva," he mumbled in his sleep.

The anger passed quickly, as she thought of him dreaming of her. Part of her wanted her to stay there the night in bed with him, so she could take care of him in the morning. But she knew it was time yet to speak to him. She needed to do a few things on her own before that. Kissing his forehead, she got up and regretfully slipped out of the room.


	7. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

Tony woke in the morning with his shirt unbuttoned and wondering how that hell that happened. During the night he must have done, though he didn't remember being that drunk, although he was drunk. As he attempted to sit up, he smelled a hint of Ziva's distinctive perfume in the air. It was called Spikenard and it had the scent of myrrh, cinnamon, and iris. He loved it on her because her skin always tasted of cinnamon, sweat, and citrus to him and the perfume paired with that perfectly.

"I must be imagining things. She couldn't have been her last night. Jesus, DiNozzo, you are missing her more than you thought you would," he said.

Getting up with a headache that was pounding at his temples and on top of his head, he shuffled into the bathroom and took a long and very hot shower. When he got of the shower, the first thing he did was stare at himself in the mirror. He had a nice bruise under his left eye, but little damage on his beyond that on his face. Mainly his torso took a beating, but thankfully he avoided any cracked or broken ribs. Wrapping a towel around his waist he exited the bathroom. On the bed was his smart phone. It blinked alerting him that he missed a call, so he picked it up and played the call he missed.

"_Anthony, good to have you in the city visiting. It's been years. Today at Pellegrino's at three, so we miss the lunch crowd and avoid the dinner crowd. We'll eat and talk_," Vincent said.

Three o'clock then he was going to see Vincent. Uncle Vincent, Vincent _The Butcher_, one of the only members of his family on his father's side that he had a decent relationship with and he was the capo of the Family. He smiled. _No wonder I became a cop. _His cousins, Vincent's sons, Paulo, Vinnie, and Johnny, even went to see him play football and basketball at Ohio State. Lunch and a talk. It was a start.

NCIS

Tony dressed in a Hugo Boss wool and mohair grey suit with a white shirt and red silk tie along with a Bruno Magli Mikko loafers. Since it was a grey, rain threatening day, he wore his black Burberry trench coat. After telling Mullen and Fornell that he was having lunch with his uncle, he took a cab down to Mulberry Street and Pellegrino's. Paying the cab driver, he exited the cab and entered the darkly lit multi-tabled restaurant. In the back near the kitchen sat four men who had guido bodyguard written all over them. A few tables over sitting all by himself was Vincent in a custom tailored blue suit was his uncle Vincent.

Walking to Vincent's table, his uncle got up and gave him a warm hug then pulled his nephew away at arms' length to get a good look at him. Vincent was two inches shorter than Tony, growing thick around the middle, with his greying dark hair and electric blue eyes.

"You're still handsome, though you look nothing like your father. He thinks himself a Don Juan still, but you're a good look boy," said Vincent. "Sit."

After taking off his trench coat and draping it on an empty chair, Tony sat down across from Vincent.

"A federal Task Force, really, Tony?" said Vincent with a smile. "What the fuck, you couldn't get a job as a fucking assassin to take me out."

Vincent laughed at his own comment.

"Very funny, Zio," laughed Tony.

"Hey, I thought you'd appreciate it. You always had a sense of humor, Tony," Vincent said.

"I needed one," smiled Tony.

"Yeah, I know, kid," Vincent said.

Vincent waved his hand and a waiter came waltzing over.

"I'll order for us," Vincent said.

"Sure, Vincent," said Tony.

Vincent looked at the waiter: "We'll each have an order of baked little neck clams. He'll have the Linguini Alla Sinatra with the scallops in the red sauce and I'll have the lasagna. We'll both have a Glenlivet 18 on the rocks."

"I'll be right back with your drinks and appetizers," said the waiter, who hustled off.

"I'd lie to you and say that your father sends his best, but the man hates you," he said. "You'd think you treated him like shit instead of visa versa."

"I know, Zio," Tony said.

"I've missed you, Tony," said Vincent.

"I've missed seeing you, too," said Tony, "but it's tough being a cop then a federal agent and maintaining a relationship with Vincent _The Butcher_."

"They still use that fucking nickname, huh?" Vincent smiled. "the FBI really needs to leave the past in the past."

"You earned, Zio," said Tony.

"Every fucking jamook I cut up deserved what I gave them. Never hung a good man up by his feet, Tony, even though there were a few I wanted to, like the fucking paperboy who kept throwing the newspaper instead of dropping it off," Vincent said.

"I know that about you, Vincent. Tough guy, murderer, but a good guy. Now my father is a different story," Tony said.

"I agree. Your father does have a cruel streak. You know he doesn't deserve you, kid," Vincent said.

"Thanks, Zio," Tony mumbled.

"Come non detto. Don't be humble, kid. You fucking raised yourself and you've become a good man. You have a lot to be proud of," Vincent said.

The waiter came with the drinks and the clams. He placed them down and left. Tony sampled the clams. He shook his head in appreciation.

"So, you're here to take on the Five Families," said Vincent.

"Actually, I'm here to stop a war. Tommy Scalia is trying to become Boss of all Bosses and that can only be done with the removal of a lot capos and crews," Tony said.

"Fuck him," said Vincent as he swallowed a clam. "Stay out of this, Tony; it's going to be bloody, really bloody. Don't get in the middle of this."

"You could avoid a lot of bloodshed if I take down Scalia and his crew before much more killing is done. It would be the smart way to handle this," said Tony.

"He's not the type who goes to jail; he's the kind you bury, Tony. You gonna kill him for me, huh? I don't think so," Vincent said.

"No, you don't think s. Let's us bury him, Vincent, instead you. I can do this. You know if you people are fighting then innocent people are going to die. I've got to stop that from happening, Zio," Tony said.

"I know. And I've got to do what I have to do, Tony. Right now there is now Capo di tutti capi. If I wanted it, it would be mine, but things have been quiet so we haven't needed one. This might change things. Now can we share a nice conversation while we eat rather than talk business," said Vincent.

"How are Anna and your daughters doing?" asked Tony.

"The women, good idea to talk about them. They are beautiful, nagging, and make life worth living," said Vincent.

"And your comare, Theresa?" asked Tony.

"You remembered Theresa," Vincent smile appreciating his memory. "She is still sexy and uncomplaining. And you, Tony, are you still sample a new one every night?"

"Nah, I think I found a single woman I can love. Just her and no one else," he said.

"So, you found some to love. I'm happy for you," Vincent said.

The waiter came and took the used plates away. He left them to talk.

"You look like someone has smacked you around," remarked Vincent.

"Westies," said Tony.

"Fucking Irish," growled Vincent. "Do you want me to send some guys over to whatever fucking bar these bastards are in and smack them around?"

He loved that Vincent thought his men could easily kick the shit of the Irish. More than likely the fucking crazy Irish would kick the shit out of Vincent's men, get drunk, and then get shot in the head because they were too drunk to defend themselves.

"Hey, I have a dollop or two of Irish blood," said Tony.

"I know. You get your green from that fucking Celtic blood. You mother was a beautiful woman. Too good for your father," said Vincent.

"I agree," Tony said sipped of his Glenlivet.

The main course arrived and the two men continued in the family talk until the coffee and rum cake arrived for dessert.

"I love rum cake. I'm not supposed to have it as often as I do but it too good to say no to," Vincent said.

"Scalia?" Tony changed the subject.

"Business, huh?" he said. "I was hoping to you'd drip this."

"Yeah, business, Vincent. We need to talk about it because I'm not getting out of your business."

"Okay. I am calling for a summit of the capos of the Five Families. I'll mention your suggestion about letting the feds handle Scalia," he said.

"Vincent, really think about it. The feds take down Scalia and his people then they will be crowing about it for a while. They'll be off your case and out of your hair for a while. It makes good business sense," said Tony.

"You are smarter than my fucking sons. You would have made a great Don, Anthony. You got style, charm, intelligence, and I know you can be a fucking cold hearted bastard when you want to be. Sometimes I really feel like kicking your father's ass for failing you," Vincent said.

"I'd never have been the Don, Zio. It's just not me," said Vincent.

"If your father had handed raising you over to me when your mother died, I'd be in Florida retired right now and you would be the Boss of Bosses, Anthony. But because he is a babbo sometimes, you are a fed and I have to talk business with you like you are a fucking stranger," Vincent sighed. "We'll see about Scalia."

"Think about it," said Tony.

"Vediamo," said Vincent.

Vincent stood up and dropped two hundred dollars on the table then he gently slapped Tony's cheek. He smiled at Tony then he and his four men then walked out of the restaurant.

Tony grabbed his trench coat and walked out of the restaurant. There was a slight drizzle of rain. He started walking down the crowded street of Mulberry Street with is shops and restaurants and vendors. A NY police car with its siren and lights on sped through a cross street. If there were ten million people in New York City then there must be another million tourists. Although he wasn't best buddies with the men and women who wore the NYPD blue, he had to admire them as they busted a nut for the good citizens of the city.

Tony started walking towards the Chelsea Hotel. He doubted that Vincent was going to take his advice, which meant it was time for them to start going after Scalia. They needed to collect his known associates, his top crew, and his right hand man and anything else they could learn about him. Besides the murders that had been committed lately, there had to be more than they could pin to his ass and put him away.

A half a block behind him Michael Rivkin walked stalking Tony. Deputy Director David made it clear that he wanted Agent DiNozzo removed. He didn't want to lose his last child to this man. Ziva belonged to him and to Mossad. And Michael felt like she only belonged to him, too.

NCIS

Malachi sat at a table by the window in Doc Watson's on 2nd Avenue between 77th Street and 78th Street. It was a serviceable pub, not too fancy, which sold food and had a loud atmosphere, which worked well for spies. Loud atmospheres meant people really didn't listen to other people's conversations because they had hard enough time hearing their own. Ziva entered the restaurant and saw Malachi and headed over to the table and sat down.

"I am hungry," she said.

He waved a buxom waitress over.

"Miss, can we have two draft beers. I'll have the turkey club and...," Malachi was cut off by Ziva.

"I'll have a Reuben sandwich and I want to substitute the onion rings for the French fries," said Ziva not even bothering to look at the waitress.

The waitress walked away with the order.

"Where is Michael?" she asked.

"I have no idea, Ziva. He is working his own agenda," Malachi answered.

"He is a wild card, Malachi, and I want him under control," said Tony.

"I will try, but I have no idea what his real orders are from your father," he said. "Now do you want to hear what I've found out about the Five Families?"

"Okay, fire," she said.

"I think you mean shoot, Ziva," said Malachi.

"Do not correct me, Malachi, or I will embed a fork on her forehead. Now speak, Malachi," she hissed.

"Okay, it appears that it isn't any of the Five Families that sold the weapons to terrorists but a rogue group who are trying to move in and take power," he said. "Unfortunately, I don't have much information on this group because Interpol is not really kept abreast by the FBI or NYPD."

"But Tony probably does know about these rogues and who they are," Ziva said.

"Talk to him, Ziva. I will deal with Michael. You talk to him and get us intel that we can work on and get this assignment over and done with. I don't let this and I don't like being here," Malachi said.

"I will talk to him," Ziva sighed. "I don't know when but I will."

The waitress dropped off their draft beers and quickly moved away.

"I want the name of the leadership of this group so we can eliminate them then get head up to Montreal by train and back to Tel Aviv," he said. "I wish I had been sent to Iraq or Afghanistan to keep an eye on things, but, no, I get this damned assignment. If I don't handle this correctly, my life and career are in shambles."

"Yes, well, I want my life back, too, Malachi. I no longer want to these kinds of assignments. I am no longer right for them," she said.

"Mossad is your life, Ziva, or is it?" Malachi asked.

"I am no longer sure, Malachi, if I want to be," she admitted.

"This DiNozzo has turned your head. I believe he has melted you heart. I would like to meet this man," he said.

"I do not want him hurt, Malachi. He means too much to me," said Ziva.

"I know I have to deal with Michael and make sure he stays away from Agent DiNozzo," said Malachi.

The waitress brought over their sandwiches.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" she asked.

"No thank you," Ziva said.

The waitress moved on to her next table.

Ziva took a bite of her Rueben and smiled. She remembered the first time she had one of these sandwiches was at a deli with Tony. He explained to her that in the United States this was what was considered Jewish food. Corned beef and tongue sandwiches and pastrami and salami sandwiches; this was his idea of Jewish food. It made her smile.

"Why are you smiling?" Malachi asked her.

"Because Tony makes me smile," she answered.

"Yes, I definitely have to meet this man," said Malachi.

NCIS

Tony was walking on 20th Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues when he heard the loud growl of a motorcycle. Most occasions he'd ignore the sound, but in New York City, he felt his life was constantly in danger. He turned in time to see two people on a Yamaha motorcycle. The rider and the passenger each had a black helmet with black visors obscuring their faces, which immediately made Tony feel hinky. The fact that the passenger had a Spectre M4 in his right hand only solidified his feeling that someone wanted him dead and dead now. Just at the same time the passenger started to fire his weapon, Tony dove behind a Chevrolet Volt. Thirty rounds ate up the windows and metal of the vehicle.

Tony came up shooting taken out the passenger with three shots in the back and then blowing out the back wheel of the motorcycle causing the rider to plow into the engine of a parked SUV. The rider was then thrown off the bike and was propelled head first through the front window of the vehicle. Tony took quick inventory of his surroundings and the damage that was done. A woman and a man walking near him were done and bleeding from gunshot wounds. He pulled out his smart phone and first called 911. Next, he called Fornell then he waited.

With those calls made he rushed to the injured sides and started to give first aid as best as he could. In the background he could hear police sirens whooping and whining. The NYPD were on their way and ambulances were on their way. It didn't look like either the man or the woman was fatally injured, but they were injured and it was his fault. He hoped that Fornell and the Task Force showed up quickly. As much as he respected the NYPD they were going to have a field day with him.

NCIS

He sat in an interrogation room with two NYPD detectives glaring at him. With handcuffs binding him he was made to feel like a convicted criminal rather someone in law enforcement. They had decided on playing bad cop and worse cop. He had no idea what precinct he was in, but only hoped Fornell found him soon.

Once the police showed up and they caught a loud of his name, they treated him like the devil incarnate. Within minutes he was forced into a patrol car and driven off to be interrogated by the two men in front of him.

"DiNutso, just fucking admit that this is about some vendetta that your Family is involved in?" growled the older white detective.

"I hate bad cops and I hate bad fed even more," the African American detective tossed at him.

"I hate silent films. I love talkies. As a matter of fact I'm kind of a film junkie, but I just never got into silent films," said Tony.

"They were mafia and you are a prince of the Genovese Family, so fess up, DiNutso, this a hit out on you because of your father and uncle," said the white cop.

"Answer him," his partner barked.

"Do you two practice this bad guy bad guy thing?" asked Tony.

"I know you are dirty," said the white detective.

The door opened and Mullen and Fornell walked in.

"Get those cuffs off of him," shouted Fornell. "He is FBI and he is clean. Cleaner than you two pieces of shit."

"I want the keys now to unlock him right now or a break someone's arm," growled Mullen.

The African American detective tossed him the keys to the handcuffs. Mullen unlocked them and then tossed the cuffs and key on the table. He glared at the two detectives.

"You touch my man here without real cause and I'll have your badges," threatened Fornell.

"Some guidos try and kill him and he takes them out and you fucking try and railroad him," Mullen said through clenched teeth. "I'd love to meet you bastards off duty somewhere so we can discuss police procedures."

"It's okay, PJ," Tony spoke up. "They're misguided not dirty."

"They should be beat cops," said Fornell.

"It's okay, Tobias. Let's go. I need a shower," said Tony.

"Sure, there nothing important being done here," said Mullen.

They three federal agents strode out of the interrogation room and then defiantly walked through cops and detectives alike until they were out of the precinct. Tony was once again reminded why he hated visiting New York.


	8. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

"So, what we know so far," Fornell started the meeting in the conference room at 26 Federal Plaza, "is that the Five Family is having a summit to discuss business and Tommy Scalia seems to have put a target on Agent DiNozzo's back. We need to know where?"

Tony had his smart phone in hand and was texting back and forth with someone Fornell assumed was a CI, though Tony just considered him a childhood friend.

"We can start wiretaps," said NCIS Agent Goode, "on the underbosses of the Five Families."

"Atlantic City in three days is the summit," Tony spoke up, as he put down his smart phone. "They are staying in Caesars."

Mullen tried to hide a smile. Who else of them would find out but the guy who could walk into Rao's and have dinner with a caporegime, or make a social call and end up lunching with Vincent _The Butcher_?

"You sure about this?" asked Fornell.

"Positive," said Tony.

"Okay, who do we send?" asked Fornell.

"You, me, Mullen, Stabile, and Manetti," smiled Tony.

"Agreed," said Fornell who then looked at Sacks. "Keep investigating the murders and get us wire taps for the capos of the Five families. We need to know how they are going to react to Scalia."

"I think I should lead the group to Atlantic City," said Sacks.

"Lead, as if we would follow you, Slacks," smirked Tony. "Anyway, Fornell and I are co-leading this Task Force. You get back to overseeing the investigations of the murders."

"You aren't my boss," snapped Sacks.

"He is on this Task Force," said Fornell, "and if I can convince him to stay with the FBI, he'd be the permanent head of this Task Force."

Toy looked at Fornell, but didn't speak up. Maybe he would be better off bringing down the Five Families. He did a lot good at NCIS, but he'd do more making sure the Mafia did less harm. Wasn't that the reason he became a cop in the first place?

"Since when did we put the fox in charge of the hen house?" asked Sacks.

"Are you saying that I'm like my father, Slacks?" Tony asked in an even cold voice. "That I'm one of them."

"DiNutso, you are a DiNutso. It doesn't take a great stretch of the imagination to figure out who side you'd be on. Isn't the saying blood is thicker than water?" he answered.

"If I was a true DiNutso, then you'd be weighted down and taking a swim in the East River," Tony noted.

"Are you threatening me, Agent DiNutso?" asked Sacks.

"No, I'm pointing out the difference between me and my father. He doesn't care about laws and I uphold them," he smiled.

"From what I've seen of you and Gibbs and the way you work then you don't uphold them all the time," said Sacks.

"You really are looking for an ass kicking, aren't you?" smiled Tony.

"Agent Sacks, Agent DiNozzo isn't his family. You should keep that in mind," Fornell said. "Now you have murders to investigate including Franco Moretti. Get to work."

Sacks stood up and stormed out of the conference room. Fornell looked over at DiNozzo. His eyes, which usually expressed his emotions, were dead. It sent a shiver down Fornell's spine because sitting there was the Tony DiNozzo who could have been a mafia prince. He preferred Gibbs' DiNozzo than the one staring at Sacks' vacated spot.

"DiNozzo," he barked in order to get his attention.

Slowly, Tony came out of his reverie and looked at Fornell.

"Are you here?" he asked.

A smirk crossed DiNozzo's lips that could be read in his eyes: "Where else would I be?"

Fornell smiled in relief.

"Okay we should make arrangements for a trip to Atlantic City," he said.

NCIS

Ziva paced her hotel room. Tony just missed being killed. It was on the news, though they called him and unnamed FBI agent instead of giving exact details. They were probably being withheld because of the Task Force, she assumed. Michael came back and told them what he saw. Part of him was amused and part of him was pissed that he almost lost his chance to kill DiNozzo.

"_His instincts were better than I thought," said Michael. "That bastard acted like he knew it was coming and got behind a car then took them out. I'll have to be quieter." _

"_You won't do a damned thing unless there is a reason," said Malachi. _

_Michael smiled: "Sure, Malachi, you are in charge." _

He then left the room with Malachi following him. Now Ziva was sure she was going to have to do something she hoped she didn't have to do. Soon she was going to have to make her presence known to Tony. She was going to have to come clean with him. Or she was going to have kill Michael. Either way, it was something she didn't want to do.

NCIS

Tony knew they were the capos and men would be staying at Caesars, so Fornell booked three room, two doubles and a single for him. Tony and Mullen paired up in one room and Manetti and Stabile in the other room. Of course, Manetti sleeping in the same room as Stabile drew Mullen's attention.

"Do you think they are, you know, doing it?" he asked Tony.

"No," he answered.

"How do you know?" Mullen asked.

"Look at Stabile. I watched him and he checks out blondes and red heads. He doesn't like brunettes, especially ones that look like voluptuous Italian princesses," he explained.

"You saying Angels is hot and I want her?" asked Mullen.

"You know you got a problem, right? You are not allowed to be jealous unless you are dating the woman," Tony said Mullen.

"I'm not jealous," mumbled Mullen.

"You are, too," he said.

"I…," he paused and thought honestly about his reply. "I find her incredibly attractive."

"Listen, once we settle into our suite," Tony said with a laugh, as their room consisted of two double beds, a small desk, chest of drawers, and a TV, "we'll go walk on the Boardwalk and look at all the pretty girls."

"It's kind of chilly out there," said Mullen.

"Afraid of the cold?" Tony asked.

"No, I'm just wondering how many pretty girls there would be out there," he said.

Tony got dressed in jeans, a grey shawl collared sweater, and suede jacket then he and Mullen went for a walk on the Boardwalk. Even if the light blue sky of dusk overhead and a chilly forties degrees, there were tourists milling about. Tony grabbed a warm large soft pretzel with brown mustard on it from a vendor and started to nibble on it.

Past the storefronts and vendors they walked until they stopped and stared out at the grey, rough waters of the Atlantic.

"You worried about what's coming up?" asked Mullen.

"You guys are going to keep a close eye on the capos and I'm going to surprise them with a visit in the hopes that they listen to me," said Tony.

"Not going by yourself," said Mullen. "I'll be by your side."

"No, PJ, too dangerous," said Tony. "I'm probably going to piss them off more than convince them to listen to me."

Mullen looked over at the Ferris wheel and rollercoaster on an extended pier.

"You feel like going on a rollercoaster ride?" Mullen asked.

"Nay, too busy thinking how I can piss the mafia off and get myself killed," smiled Tony.

"Good point," Mullen laughed. "Hey are you going to go all mafia and wear a suit and look like a member of the Rat Pack when you interrupt their meeting?"

"Thought I forego looking like one of them this time," said Tony.

"Good. I like dressing up, but I hate ruining a good suit in a fight," smiled Mullen.

"I was hoping to avoid trouble," said Tony.

"Yeah, and I was hoping to avoid a sunburn in the desert but with my color that's impossible and with your luck trouble seems to follow you," Mullen said.

"Thanks, PJ," said Tony then he looked over his new friend's shoulder and saw Ziva standing on the Boardwalk looking at him.

She was dressed in cargo pants, a sweater and a wool overcoat with her hair pulled back and little makeup on, yet his pulse sped up just looking at her. Mullen followed Tony's eyes.

"You know her?" asked Mullen.

"Know her. I'm in love with her," he said.

"Oh," he smiled. "I think I'll go see get dinner, see a floor show, maybe have a few drinks, who knows where that will lead me. See you much later."

Mullen gave him a slap on the back and walked away. He started walking towards to Ziva and she started walking towards him. When they finally met in the middle, he grabbed her by the shoulders and kissed her. She responded by wrapping her arms around him. They remained kissing until both of them needed to stop or make a complete public spectacle of themselves.

"I need to talk to you, Ahuvi," she said.

"God, I missed you, Zi. Did Gibbs send you?" he asked.

"I am on a leave of absence from NCIS. I am here for Mossad," she said.

Tony blanched at this. As Officer David Mossad liaison with NCIS she was his partner and his lover, but as Officer David, Mossad, she was an assassin and someone who he worried about where her loyalties lay.

"Let's go back to my room and talk," he said.

"I think that is a good idea," she said.

NCIS

When they entered his room, they first intentions were to talk, but emotions and desire got in the way. A simple kiss led to another less simple kiss and then they were standing on that slippery slope of sexual longing. Soon they were naked in bed and wrapped around each other until Tony drove first Ziva to an intense and loud release and then himself to a less loud but no less intense release.

As they lay sweaty and naked in his bed, Ziva decided to just come clean with him. Holding back was going to help her now.

"My father gave me an assignment with two other members of Kidon to come to New York and find out which of the Five Families sold weapons to a terrorist group that used them against Israeli citizens. We are supposed to discover who okayed this sale and kill him and those who support him," she said calmly.

"Zi, this is the United States you can't just come and assassinate mafia capos and his crew on US soil," said Tony. "I know they are bastards and they caused deaths to Israelis, but there are laws."

"Eli orders us what to do and we have to do it. One does not argue with Eli David," she said.

"God, Zi," he said then kissed her head, "I wish I could get you away from Mossad."

"Really?" she asked him sincerely.

"Yeah, really," he said and tightened his grip on her as he held her in his arms.

"Malachi, who is leading this mission, found out that it isn't any of the Five Families but a rogue who is looking to make a power grab," said Ziva.

"Scalia," sighed Tony. "One of the ways he must be financing himself is selling weapons to terrorists. It makes sense in a way because trying to make a move on the Five Families is an expensive proposition. His crew is going to expect to be well paid. Loyalty is bought in the mafia. You and the Mossad have to stay out of this way, Zi. The Task Force I'm leading with Fornell are going after Scalia."

"That won't be so easy," she said. "Beside taking out those who sold the weapons one of those sent was given a special assignment by my father, and that is to kill you."

"What?' Tony said.

It felt like someone had just kicked him in the stomach. He started to shift in the bed, but Ziva wouldn't let go of him. She was going to let go of him.

"Michael Rivkin is his name," she said. "I once had a relationship and now my father wants him to kill you because he said want me with you."

"And you are just telling me this?" he asked.

"Malachi and I have been keeping an eye on him. Neither one of us would let him carry out his order, though he is getting difficult to track as he gets to know he terrain better," she said.

"Mossad wants me dead. Mossad and the mafia, I really have problems with organizations beginning with an M," he stated without emotion.

"Not so much Mossad as my father wants you dead," she corrected him.

"Why?" he asked

"Because he doesn't think you are good enough for me. He is threatened by your presence in my life, afraid that he won't be able to control me any longer," she answered.

He laughed. It wasn't an ironic laugh but a real full throated laugh. Ziva sat up in bed and stared at him as if he was crazy.

"Why are you laughing?" she asked him.

"I sometimes think that I'm not good enough for you, but I never thought it would get me killed. I thought it would just get my heart broken," he said.

"Oh, Ahuvi, it is I who is not good enough for you," she said softly and kissed him. "Do you hate me now?"

The answer was what she feared most. How could he love her? She had mixed loyalties and was an assassin? She had done horrible things. And then there was what she felt for Tony. At first, she thought him a player and a buffoon, but he proved her wrong. Yes, he fooled around with him, but he was more than just a simple player. He was a good man, so good he turned away from his family because of who they were. She knew who her father was and what he was capable of and yet she still took his orders.

"Hate you? Zi, I love you. I always will," he said. "Your father and his fucked up shit is his shit. I know you have been involved in things you regret and you think yourself irredeemable sometimes, but I've seen you do a lot of good as a NCIS agent."

"But when I was given this assignment by my father I didn't come to you right away, even though I knew it affected you. I should have, but I acted like the good Mossad officer at first, even when I heard what Michael might do to you," she said.

"But you came to me eventually, Zi. If anyone knows that family is complicated it is me. I've got a father who would cheer this Rivkin along in his efforts to kill me," smiled Tony as he lifted his right hand to her face and caressed her cheek with his thumb.

"I do not want to be part of his games anymore," she said.

"Then we need help to get you separated from Mossad," Tony said.

"That is easy thought then said," she said.

"Easier said than done, Zi. The idiom is easier said than done," he smiled.

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes at him.

"We need to talk to Gibbs and Jenny about how to get you away from Mossad," he said.

"They cannot help," she said.

"I think they can," he said then he put his hand behind her neck and drew her close for a kiss.

It started slow but soon they were devouring each other's mouths then there was a knock on the door. Tony broke away.

"What?" he growled.

"I'm staying with you, boyo," called Mullen.

"Hold on," Tony smiled.

"Who is that?" Ziva asked.

"PJ Mullen, my current partner," he said.

He got up and put on his jeans. Ziva covered up with the sheet and leaned against the headboard. Tony turned in the light then he let Mullen into his room.

"Sorry to be such a pain in the ass, but I sleep in here," Mullen said.

"PJ," Tony started to talk, but Mullen put up his hand.

"Except tonight. I've got this comely showgirl in the lobby waiting for me. I just needed to grab my backup piece and I'll leave you two lovebirds alone," he said.

"Why do you need your backup piece?" Ziva asked.

"Some showgirls are part of a scam where they lure you to their place then you are jumped and robbed. I want my backup piece just in case," he smiled.

"You are going to go with her even though you do not trust her?" asked Ziva.

"Ziva David, this is PJ Mullen. I thought I'd introduce the two of you since you're having a conversation," Tony interrupted.

"Well, Ziva, and that is a very pretty name, yes, I'd go with her. You see she has a set of tatas on her that could take an eye out. I'm a weak willed man," he explained.

"I can see why you are Tony's partner," Ziva laughed.

"Okay," said Mullen, who grabbed his back up piece and strapped it to his right ankle. "I'm gone."

"Goodbye, PJ," Ziva said.

"Goodnight, Ziva. I guess I'll see the two of you for breakfast. It'll be on me to make up for the interruption," he said then left.

"I like him. He reminds me of someone I know," said Ziva with a sly smile playing on her lips.

"Okay, back to the subject at hand. We need to get Gibbs and Jenny involved in dealing with your problem," he said.

"Tony, my father won't let me go," she said.

"Zi, can we try?" he pleaded. "I don't want to lose you."

Ziva looked at him and her heart melted. She couldn't refuse him, which sometimes annoyed her.

"Yes, we can try," she said.

"That's my girl," he smiled.

"Now come back to bed and convince me I made the right choice," she said.

He turned off the light, undid his jeans, and got back into bed with her.


	9. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Tony had texted Mullen to let him know that he and Ziva were having brunch in the Continental at 11:30 in the morning. He responded with a hold a seat for me. As, Tony and Ziva settled at a table in the modern décor with the yellow overhead lights and sharp angles, Tony caught a glimpse of a ragged looking Mullen. He stood up and waved him over.

"Morning," said Mullen.

"Did she rob you?" asked Ziva.

"Only on bodily fluids," he smiled.

Ziva laughed. She could see why he and Tony got along so well.

"We expect the capos today," said Tony.

"You still intend on just interrupting the meeting to speak to them," Mullen said.

"Yeah, I do. I've never been big on coming up with a plan B unless I have to," replied Tony.

A waitress came over to them and Tony ended the conversation.

"I'll have a coffee and the," he paused as he picked up the menu and quickly looked at it. "Eggs benedict with ham."

"I'll have the Challah bread French toast and a cup of Earl Grey tea," ordered.

"Leave it to me to bring the trend. I'll have a Bloody Mary and the Cuban sandwich with French fried. Oh, and a coffee," Mullen smiled at the waitress.

The waitress smiled back him: "I'll hurry with your order."

She walked away.

"You intend on confronting the capos of the Five Families, yes?" asked Ziva.

"Yes, I do," he said.

"Ahuvi, isn't that dangerous?" she asked.

"His breathing in the state of New York seems to be dangerous for him," said Mullen.

Ziva looked at Tony with great concern, but he merely smiled.

"It's job," he said.

"Irritating the job isn't a job," said Mullen.

"What about you?" asked Tony.

"I've turned mob baiting into an art form," smiled Mullen.

"Are you two related?" asked Ziva with a smile.

"No," Mullen answered.

"But we share a history," said Tony.

"Sons of mobsters. We could have our own reality show, maybe even a sitcom," said Mullen.

Tony and Ziva laughed then Tony suddenly stopped laughing. His eyes trained in on some. Ziva turned and saw a man dressed in three thousand dollar blue suit. He was an older handsome man with dark slightly graying. When he noticed Tony, his blue eyes turned to ice and he and his three men walked over to their table.

"Junior," he said.

"You know I don't like being called that," said Tony.

"But it is your name: Anthony DiNutso, Junior," said his father, who then looked at Mullen. "Your taste in friends, not so good, but your taste in women is much better."

"Listen, old man, don't you have some oatmeal to gum?" asked Tony.

"Why are you here, Anthony?" he asked.

"Free country, Mr. DiNutso," answered Tony.

Anthony DiNozzo, Senior looked at his bodyguards and smiled: "See what happens when you wish for a daughter and get a son."

They laughed at his feeble joke. Tony just sat and glared at his father.

His father then looked at Ziva and smiled: "Look me up if you decide you want a real a man."

"I prefer a man whose penis works," she retorted without an inviting smile.

Mullen started laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. Tony just continued staring at his father.

"Let's go," Anthony DiNozzo, Senior said to his men.

The walked towards an empty table and sat down.

"I do not like him," Ziva said.

"My dad was a mobster, but, at least, he loved me. That man is a fucking dick," said Mullen.

"Yeah, well, we can't choose our parents," said Tony.

NCIS

The smaller conference room was setup with three long tables, one at the top and two facing each other. The one at the top was for the Genovese Family then one of the other two tables would have the Gambino and Colombo Families and the remaining one would have Bonanno and Lucchese Families. Each table would have the capo and the consigliere along with one of the top caporegime. The underboss would be left at home and the bodyguards kept out of the room. The meeting would last as long as it had to and would end with one of the heads of the Families being named the Boss of Bosses.

Slowly the fifteen men filtered into the room. Each man was wearing it in the three thousand dollar suits, silk ties and socks, gold cufflinks and Rolexes and the smell of expensive heavily applied cologne wafted through the air. They were men of various ages, though the youngest was just fifty, and most of them were fifteen to two pounds overweight, except Anthony DiNozzo, Senior, who was obsessive about his looks, and Carmine D'Amato of the Lucchese Family, who was rail thin long ago earning him the nickname sticks.

Vincent scanned those gathered and decided on the spot he'd leave capo di tutti capi or the Genovese Family a problem equal to Scalia. He leaned into his brother and whispered: "I want it."

Anthony, Senior stood up as they all settled into their chairs and offered the group of gathered men one of his million dollar smiled: "This summit of the Families was called for two reasons: one, to elected a capo di tutti capi and two, the handle the problem of Tomas Scalia and the bastards who are following him. I believe the first reason should be the easiest to deal with, as The Genovese Family is the largest and most profitable and Vincent DiNutso wants to be Boss of Bosses."

The latest temporary capo of the Gambino Family, Sammy Favazza, stood up and smiled: "I'm an admirer of _The Butcher_, but just because the Genovese Family is doing well right now, it doesn't mean they should be rewarded."

Anthony was going to retort to this comment but Vincent grabbed his forearm and guided him to sit down then he stood up. Vincent coldly looked at Favazza.

"I'm glad that Sammy _The Midget_ Favazza," he said using a nickname that Favazza didn't like, "is an admirer. Someday when he has led a Family for more than five minutes, I hope to be an admirer of him."

Several broke out laughing, especially Carmine D'Amato. Carmine didn't bother to stand up, since he was senior in age and in length of running a Family. Many admired him just for having hung on for so long. It took toughness, some luck, and skill to reach his age as a capo. The seventy-two year old cleared his throat then spoke: "We know my nickname is _The Owl. _I never knew if I was called that because I was wise or I had big eyes."

Several laughed at his joke. He continued: "It has been difficult times for most Families, except the Genovese Family. They have thrived and for that Vincent deserves respect and he gets my support as the latest Boss of Bosses. Hell, if I didn't give him my support and he didn't get the position, he'd probably just ignore us and watch us flounder and pick picked off one by one by Scalia and his crew. No, we need Vinnie and his wise consigliere and many guns. A sua disposizione."

Vincent smiled: "Thank you for your wisdom, Carmine."

Mario Barone of the Bonanno Family stood up and said: "Salute! I support Vincent. Any man who lets me win at bocce gets my vote always."

"Mario, I owe you a game," smiled Vincent.

"He already has the votes," said Luke Camerano of the Colombo Family, "so let's move on to this fucking Scalia problem."

"We have to make it valid with a vote of hands," said Anthony.

"Raise your hands if you want me as the Boss of Bosses," said Vincent.

Everyone except the Gambino family raised their hands. Vincent sat down and Anthony stood back up. The Genovese Family was now officially in charge. Before could begin talking about Scalia, they heard a commotion outside of the conference room doors. Finally, the door opened by the force of one the many bodyguards being tossed into by Mullen.

Dressed in faded jeans, a black Hugo Boss shirt, and an antique bomber's jacket Tony walked into the conference room. His badge was clipped right beside his belt buckle and when he walked his Glock showed. He was letting everyone know that he was there as law enforcement and not as family.

He walked passed his father and walked over to Vincent, who stood up, and they hugged each other. Vincent whispered into his ear: "What are you up to, kid?"

Tony whispered in his ear: "Giving you room to work."

He kissed Tony on the cheek and sat down. Tony faced everyone then he glared his father back into his seat. The hate between the two men was noticeable. Tony then faced the rest of the Families.

"Tomas Scalia is a problem that needs to be dealt with and I have a recommendation for you which I hope you listen to," Tony said.

Sammy Favazza laughed: "The puppy thinks he has a bark and bite."

"And _The Midget_ thinks he has legs," smiled Tony. "Shut up and listen, sciocco."

Vincent smiled. He always knew the kid had balls and style. Tony would have made a great Don.

"Let the FBI and NCIS Organized Crime Task Force handle Scalia. He has sold weapons to terrorists, so we are going to go after him with every tool we have. You all know what that means since several of your Families have suffered under the tactics. Let us handle him, so the blood flow is left to a minimum. It's the smart move, not that you have ever taken the smart move," Tony explained.

"How can we trust you?" asked Carmine.

"The same way I can trust you," said Tony.

"I'm in favor of killing Scalia and if you get in the way then you can die," said Luke Camerano.

"Small Family, small mind. What else do you have that is small?" smiled Tony making Carmine laugh.

"You have balls," said Sammy.

"Well, we know I didn't inherit them from my father," said Tony.

"You son-of-a-bitch," growled Senior.

"Antony, calm down," said Vincent.

"All I am doing is giving you another choice. You don't have to take it, but it is there for you," said Tony. "Well, I guess you can get back to your summit."

Tony walked out of the room slowly leaving many angry men behind him. Vincent admired his nephew, even wished he were his son, but now he needed to think of the Family not family. He stood up and silenced everyone.

"We will take care of Scalia and I will have some people take care of nephew for his rudeness," said Vincent.

"Are you going to bury him?" asked Sammy.

"No. Because he's family he's a beating first. It's a chance for him to learn a fucking lesson. Believe me it will be a lesson that he'll never forget," said Vincent.

He looked over at his brother with disappointment. If he had done right by his son, Anthony, Junior would have been his successor and his sons would have agreed without an argument because even they knew he was special. Anthony, Senior nodded his approval at the thought of his sin being beaten. Vincent shook his head in disappoint.

NCIS

Fornell caught up with Tony in the lobby where he was towards the elevator with Mullen and Ziva.

"What they hell were you thinking?" he asked him.

"Either they'll listen to my offer or they'll start making mistakes. Trust me, Tobias, there was a reason for what I did," said Tony.

"You're going to get yourself killed and Gibbs is then going to kill me," said Fornell.

"And I thought you loved me for me not because you were afraid of Gibbs," smiled Tony.

Fornell finally noticed Ziva: "What is she doing here?"

"Ah, well, I need to talk to you about that," said Tony. "Join us."

After getting back to their room, Tony explained to Fornell about Ziva's Mossad assignment, leaving out the information about the hit on him.

"Fucking Scalia, he sold weapons to terrorists," Fornell said.

"To fund his takeover," said Tony.

"We can use this. It can get us any wiretaps and surveillance we need," smiled Fornell. "Stupid bastards dug their own graves and they don't even know it."

"I'm glad I could make you so happy, Fornell," Tony said.

"Now we need to deal with Mossad," said Fornell.

"Yeah, that's not so easy," said Tony.

"No, really," sighed Fornell.

"Tony, you should tell him about Michael," said Ziva.

"I'd rather not," said Tony.

"Tell him," said Ziva in a tone that Fornell recognized. It was the tone one lover used on another when they wanted them to know that they had no choice. This made Fornell smile. If Gibbs knew about this, he'd be white with angry. Or would he? DiNozzo always was his fair haired boy. Maybe he'd forgive him. Of course, if he didn't forgive him, then Fornell knew he could entice him to the FBI permanently.

"Michael Rivkin was sent to kill me if he got a good enough excuse, like I sneezed on a Tuesday," said Tony.

"Why?" snapped Fornell.

"Because Tony and I are lovers and my father doesn't approve," said Ziva.

"You think a stern letter would have been enough," said Mullen.

"I know," smiled Tony.

"Not funny," growled Fornell.

"No, it is not," added Ziva.

"How do we handle this?" asked Fornell.

"Easy. I got Mullen protecting my six and I want to send Ziva back to DC to deal with something that I believe Gibbs and Director Shepard can help her with," said Tony.

"I do not want to go," Ziva stated.

"Zi, you know it makes sense to get their help," said Tony. "Your problem can be turned into a political problem."

"But, Tony, you are in danger," she said.

"What am I chop liver?" asked Mullen.

"Mossad assassin or crazy Irishman, it might be a tossup?' joked Fornell.

"We are going to get you on a plane to DC and you are going to talk to Gibbs and then Jenny. Tell them the truth, the whole truth, and if Gibbs tells you he has a problem with rule 12 then tell him I can remain FBI," he said.

"But, Tony, you love NCIS," she said.

"I love you more. Zi, I'm not giving you up this time," he said.

"I will be honest with them. I think it better if I tell them together," she said.

"You mean you think it easier," he smirked.

"Yes, easier," she agreed.

"Fornell, if Gibbs acts like a jackass I'm yours," he said to Fornell.

"Here's hoping," smiled Fornell.

NCIS

After they dropped Ziva off at Newark airport, Mullen and Tony drove the rented car back to the Chelsea. It had been a long few days. They now knew that Vincent was the new Boss of Bosses, Scalia was involved with terrorists, and Mossad was lurking on the periphery with the potential to screw things up and kill Tony. Mullen found most of this amusing.

"You know as my partner and my protecting my back that your ass is as on the line as mine," Tony reminded him.

"Yeah, I know, but it's still a giggle. I live a complicated life but you live a Byzantine life. I mean you've got more complications in your life than any man I know," Mullen said.

"PJ, you aren't a real believer in pep talks," said Tony.

"No, not really. My father always said it is better to laugh about your situation then to lie about it. Pep talks are usually filled with lies," he said.

"You're a deep bastard, aren't you?" smiled Tony.

"I am a human abyss," said Mullen.

Once they had dropped off the car they each found their way into their hotel rooms. Tony looked at his watch. Ziva was in Dc and she was probably confronting Jenny and Gibbs as they spoke.

"God, I hope the hell they can help her," he sighed as he fell back on the bed.

NCIS

Jenny was the first one to shop up at Gibbs house. She found him in his basement in a Marine sweatshirt and jeans working on a boat and sipping bourbon from a coffee mug. Without asking permission she walked over to the bottle of bourbon, grabbed a mason jar and poured herself a nice healthy drink.

"So, what do you think Ziva wants?" she asked.

"Whatever it is I bet it involves DiNozzo," he said, as he measured a piece of wood and made marks with a pencil.

"Are you afraid that they have crossed the line, Jethro?" asked Jenny.

"I'd like to save them some heartache if I can," he exhaled.

"Maybe it wouldn't end for them like it did for us," said Jenny.

He pointed towards the upstairs: "We'll find out. She's here."

Jenny looked confused then she heard the basement door open and Ziva came down the steps. She looked a little worried and tired, which worried Jenny.

"Gibbs, Jenny, I want to thank you both for listening to me. It was Tony who recommended I talk to you," she said.

"He knows you are here?" asked Gibbs.

"Yes, Gibbs," she answered him.

"Have you broken rule 12?" he asked.

"Many times," she answered and Jenny smiled.

"Starting when?" he asked.

"When you left us for Mexico," she answered and Gibbs exhaled a long angry breath. He was their boss when it started. He was a beachcomber.

"Is breaking rule 12 why you are here?" he asked.

"No. I am here because I want to leave Mossad and join NCIS," she stated.

Jenny looked over at Gibbs, who raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

NCIS

Tony and Mullen decided to grab a beer. They let Fornell know what their intentions were and started off to find a quiet beer that wouldn't cost and arm and a leg. As they walked along Ninth Avenue, a black cargo van pulled up beside them and the door slid back and two men where pointing handguns at them.

"Get in the van," said one of the men.

As Tony stepped into the van, he was hit with a blackjack in the back of the head and slipped into darkness. When he woke up he was shivering and chained facing a wall. He looked to his side and saw Mullen chained with his back to the wall, but he had his shirt on.

"You embarrassed a lot of people in Atlantic City," said the voice.

Tony closed his eyes. He knew what was coming.

"I am going to whip you fifteen lashes. On lash for every member of the Families you insulted at that summit. How does that sound, Agent DiNozzo?" asked the voice.

"Less talk more action," said Tony.

Mullen woke up and through Mullen's eyes, Tony saw what was coming his way. With a loud crack he felt a streak of pain across his back.

"One," the voice said.

Another loud cracked filled the air and another burning, painful hot streak lashed his back. Tony bit the inside of his mouth trying to keep from whimpering in pain.

"Two," the voice said.

"Could you count quicker," Tony said through gritted teeth.

"No."

NCIS

Ziva finished telling them everything and Jenny offered her a swig of her bourbon. She took it and drank it down. Gibbs was furious, no longer at the breaking of rule 12, but at Eli David and how he could treat his daughter so callously.

"Okay, we will figure this out. And you tell DiNozzo he belongs to NCIS not the FBI," growled Gibbs.

"He refuses to give me up, Gibbs," she said with her eyes looking at the floor.

"And you?" he asked.

"I do not want to give him up," she said then looked up at him with watery eyes. "I love him."

"Okay, well, we'll deal with that later," he said then his cellphone buzzed.

He grabbed it off his work bench and answered it.

"Gibbs," he said.

"_The mob sent a lesson to DiNozzo. He's in a hospital in New York City. I thought you might want to know," _Fornell said.

"What the hell happened to him?" Gibbs growled.

"_They whipped him, Jethro. Fifteen lashes across the back. The son-of-a-bitches whipped him," _said Fornell.

"I'm on my way," he said then hung up.

Gibbs looked at Ziva and Jenny.

"Tony is in the hospital," he said.

"What happened?" asked Jenny, as Ziva just looked at him fearing what he was going to say.

"They whipped. Like a dog, they whipped him," he growled barely in control of his anger.

"I'll call the SecNav and borrow his Gulfstream. Let's go to New York," Jenny said.

Gibbs looked at Ziva and saw tears and anger. He now was sure he'd never be able to separate DiNozzo and Ziva.


	10. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

After contacting and picking up Ducky, they headed for the Andrews and the use of the SecNav's Gulfstream. Once they flew into LaGuardia, an SUV care of Fornell and the FBI was waiting for them. The driver was Special Agent Angela Manetti. Ducky got in the passenger while Gibbs, Ziva and Jenny got in the back. She brought them up to date.

"He was given fifteen lashes with a bullwhip and after he was hit with a blackjack," said Angela.

"What happen to his backup?" asked Gibbs.

"He was hit with a blackjack and then beaten. He's in the hospital also," said Angela. "It was a snatch and grab. A cargo van pulled up, they pulled the door open, pointed guns at them, once in the van blackjacked, and woke up chained to a wall in an abandoned warehouse in the old Brooklyn Navy Yard."

"Where are they?" asked Jenny.

"NYU Medical Center," said Angela.

"Do they have a good trauma team?" asked Ducky.

"Good enough, doctor," said Angela.

"Is Tony in much pain?" Ziva asked quietly.

"Well, I have to admit if you go by Fornell's reaction, it must be painful. It seems that small lead balls were tied to the end of the bullwhips tongues causing even more damage," said Angela.

"Who was behind this?" asked Ziva.

"The Five Families. The guys were delivering a message because Tony had the audacity to interrupt their summit. More than likely it was either his uncle or his father who order this," said Angela. "Some family he belongs to. No wonder he wants to put them all away."

Arriving at the hospital Ducky sought out a doctor to find out details about Tony, while Ziva, Jenny, and Gibbs were given his room number. Entering the hospital room they found Tony lying on his stomach with gauze covering his back. He was medicated and asleep. Jenny looked over at Gibbs and was surprised to see an almost fatherly look of concern for his senior field agent.

"I need a coffee," said Gibbs.

"I'll go with you," said Jenny, as she eyed Ziva, who pulled a chair up close to the bed so that she could sit with him.

She sat down in the chair and started whispering to him in Hebrew to the sleeping agent. Jenny and Gibbs exited the hospital room.

"She really does love him," Jenny said.

"I know," sighed Gibbs. He could hide the conflict he felt over Ziva and Tony.

"What are we going to do about them?" she asked.

"First, we deal with Tony's mafia problem then we deal with Ziva's Mossad problem. She is not going back to Mossad and her father," He said.

Jenny smiled as he now sounded more like a father than an agent.

"How do we save her and Tony from her father, Jethro?" asked Jenny.

"You told me that you've gotten good at politics, Jen, well, let's make this a political problem. Mossad really doesn't want Israel to have a political problem with the US," he said.

"You mean we make the problem simple for Eli: he either leaves them alone or he loses his job as deputy director because the Prime Minister of his country has been told that the United States might be reviewing their relationship with Israel, a country which threatens to assassinate it's federal agents," she smiled.

"Sounds like you really are good at politics, Jen," said Gibbs then he kissed her cheek.

"Let's get coffee," Jenny said.

"I like the way you think," said Gibbs.

"Is that right, Jethro? So how do you handle the mafia?" Gibbs asked.

"We find Scalia and his crew and put them behind bars then we put the fear of God in DiNozzo's family so they leave him alone and let him finally forget about them," he said.

"That doesn't sound that easy, Jethro," Jenny said.

He smiled: "It never is easy, Jen."

"You like difficult, though, do not you?" she teased him.

"I used to like difficult but difficult chose her job over me, so now I just accept difficult," he said.

She blushed at his comment: "Believe me, Jethro, difficult has regrets."

NCIS

Ducky explained to Gibbs and Jenny that Tony was feeling intense pain and would need to stay in the hospital for several days as they wanted to make sure he didn't get any infections from the lashing. He also told him that he wanted to see Gibbs alone.

Gibbs made his way to Tony's room. Fornell had an agent guarding the door just in case there were any more threats on his life. The agent let Gibbs into the room. When he entered and smelled that antiseptic hospital odor, it reminded him too often of all the hospital rooms he had visited DiNozzo since he had known him. Gibbs felt his jaw tense as he stared at Tony lying in the hospital bed on his stomach dealing with his pain.

"I smell coffee, so it must be you, boss," said Tony.

"It's me, DiNozzo," he said. "Who the hell is responsible for doing this to you?"

"Boss, I'm going to say this once and once only: this is family business and I don't want you involved in this shit. I'll deal with it and I'll deal with it so no one can misinterpret the message. I need you and Jenny to help Ziva more than help me. You see this Scalia business, all that is up to me to deal with," he said.

"This isn't a competition, DiNozzo," said Gibbs. "I can help you and not step on your toes."

"No, it isn't that boss. I'd let you tap dance on my ties. This is family sending family a message and I have to give the reply and no one else," he said, "otherwise they'll perceive me as weak. I can't let them think of me as weak, Gibbs. They'll never leave me alone if I do that and I really do want to be rid of them."

"Tony, I hope you know that you are part of my family, too," Gibbs said.

"I know, boss. And that's why I need you to take care of Ziva. Right or wrong, rule 12 or not, I love her and I need her protected from her father and Mossad. She means the world to me," he said.

"Breaking my rules, huh, DiNozzo?" Gibbs said.

"Some rules you have to break otherwise they break you, boss," he said. "I really do need her."

"You and Ziva, it's going to be a hard road for you. Both of you have more than your average amount of luggage and issues," he said.

"Did you think I'd take anything other than a hard road in life?" Tony asked.

Gibbs smiled: "Nope."

"Help her and I'll take care of this. When I make my move, they won't like it one bit," he said.

"From the hospital bed?" asked Gibbs.

"Doctors told me I'd be in here for three more days because of the pain and such," he laughed. "I'll be out in two. I just need to be able to put on a shirt and I'm out of here. This hospital doesn't know me too well."

"Okay, DiNozzo, I'll take care of Ziva for you," Gibbs said.

"Thanks, boss," said Tony.

"You know I'd do anything for family, Tony," he said.

"I know, boss."

NCIS

Gibbs left Ziva sitting in Tony's room, as he and Jenny sought out another cup of coffee, especially out of this hospital so I can get some fresh air. After walking around the village, they walked into the unique interior decorations of Café Reggio and found a table in an alcove then sat down.

"DiNozzo doesn't want me involved in family business," Gibbs told her.

"And you are going to listen to him?" she asked.

"I think I have to let him handle this on his own. He needs to break things off with them in his own special way and it was to be final," Gibbs said.

The waitress came over: "Can I take your order?"

"I'll have the double espresso and tiramisu," Jenny ordered.

"And you?" she smiled at Gibbs.

"I'll have a coffee black and éclair," he said.

She smiled again and left them to talk.

"Do you think it honestly is wise to let him handle this on his own, Jethro? They whipped him. They could have killed him," Jenny said.

"I don't know, Jen. Part of me wants to make sure the bastards who did this to him are caught and punished, but there is another part of me that realizes DiNozzo knows what he is doing when it comes the Five Families," said Gibbs. "He wants me to take care of Ziva for him."

"He loves her," Jen smiled, "and she loves him. I guess your rules aren't foolproof after all."

"The emphasis is on fool," he sniffed.

"Now, Jethro, just because it didn't work between you and I that doesn't mean that they are doomed to fail like us," Jenny said.

"A Mossad assassin who wants out of the Mossad and a womanizing man with the instincts of a homicide detective, they don't sound well paired to me. Do you think that they are well paired?" he said.

Jenny smiled: "I think they are very well paired."

"There has to be ten years difference in their age, too," he sighed.

"I think they'll do find, just as long as we can get Ziva away from her father," said Jenny.

"You seem to know Eli David well," said Gibbs, "what kind of man is he really?"

"He is the kind of man who would sacrifice his daughter's life to teach her a lesson," she said.

A surly, almost feral expression crossed Gibbs' face. Fathers were never supposed to sacrifice their daughters in his world. Fathers loved their daughters at all cost. Ziva deserved such a father.

NCIS

Once he fell into a sound sleep, Ziva slipped out of Tony's room at midnight and then out of the hospital. On a street on a chilly night with the concrete gargoyles of New York staring down on her she made a call to Malachi.

"_Yes_," he answered his smart phone.

"Malachi, we need to meet and talk. It is imperative," she said.

"_Ziva_," she heard him sigh on the other end of the phone sounding as if he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. "_Where do you want to meet_?"

"East River near Gracie Mansion in half an hour," she said.

"_I'll be there_," he said.

Ziva took a cab up to 93rd Street and East End Avenue. After paying the driver, she walked through Carl Schurz Park and Gracie Mansion to the walk way near the East River. Leaning against the railing she waited for Malachi.

Staring at the dark water of the river with the jacket wrapped tightly around her to keep the chill of her bones, she contemplated her request to Malachi. She knew him as a man who kept his word and a patriot for Israel. This meant her request couldn't be one that hurt Israel.

"Ziva," he said.

She turned to see him standing there in a pea coat with the collar up.

"Malachi," she said then started walking. He fell in step beside her.

"I have asked Director Shepard's and Agent Gibbs' help to get my release from Mossad. I have had enough being a tool for my father and his machinations," she said.

"This will be difficult. He will not let you go. You are all he has," he said.

"She will making this a political problem for Eli, which means it may cost him his job. He has played in the backyard of the United States too often and this time he has put a hit on an American federal agent," said Ziva. "You said that you wanted to protect my father because you think he protects Israel best. Here is your chance to protect him."

"How, Ziva?" he asked.

"First, make sure that Michael doesn't kill Agent DiNozzo or I will not stop Gibbs and Shepard from doing their thing," she said.

"Even if I have to kill Michael?" he asked. "Is that what you really want?"

"Even if you or someone else has to kill Michael to stop him. That is what I want. I don't care as long as he is stopped," she said then stopped and turned to stare at the East River again.

"Okay. I will stop Michael," Malachi said.

"This is the harder one for you, Malachi, protect my father by getting those close to him to force him to let me go. The Prime Minister will have his job if the Americans start complaining about Mossad wet ops on American soil. He will lose power as deputy director and no politician will allow him to get it back," she said. "Get those who can rail him in to rail him in."

"Like who, Ziva?" he asked. "You know your father and the power he wields."

"Director Meir. He could do it and you know. He is the overall director of Mossad and a political force in Israel and a friend of my father. Jenny and Gibbs when they get back to DC with me will start planting seeds. I can delay them for a time but I will let them do it if I don't think action is being taken. Don't let these seeds get watered and grow or Eli David will no longer have his position," she explained.

"You are more like him then you like to think, Ziva," Malachi said.

"Do not insult me like that, Malachi," she hissed.

"Oh, Ziva, he would be proud at how well you have put me in a box. I must help you, which means I will probably have to kill a fellow Mossad officer in Michael and I will use my contacts, which you know that I have, to get Director Meir involved to get you your release from Mossad and pull in your father's fangs against you," Malachi said. "Eli could not have done better. You are definitely his daughter."

"Insult me one more time, Malachi, and they will be fishing your dead body out of this river," she growled.

"Do you hate him that much?" he asked her.

"He has threatened the life of the man I love because he does not want to lose control of me, Malachi. And what does he want to do with that control – he wants me to kill for him. I am nothing but a weapon to him not a daughter. What do you think?" she spat.

"I will talk to my contacts," he sighed.

"You are a true patriot, Malachi," she said.

"You know you will never be allowed back into Israel if you do this," he said.

"Sacrifices have to be made. I love Israel but I cannot be my father's tool any longer," she said.

"Shalom, Ziva," Malachi said. "I hope you find what you are looking for in this country."

"I already have," she said. "Call me when you have put things in motion."

"Of course, Ziva," said Malachi, who then walked away

NCIS

"Are you going to be a last=y bastard forever just lying around on your tummy?" Mullen asked Tony.

Against his better judgment Tony opened his eyes to see Mullen sitting in a pair in a hospital gown, robe, and flip flops. The ginger headed agent had a smirk on his face as he stared at Tony.

"What is it, PJ?" asked Tony.

"I was wondering when the two of us can sign out of this place AMA and kick some mafia ass," he said.

"Help me to sit up," Tony said.

He moved onto his side and slowly moved his legs over the side of the bed then grabbed Mullen's offered right hand and let Mullen pull him into a seated position. Tony scrunched up his face in pain for a moment then offered Mullen a false smile.

"Call Fornell and tell him I need jeans and my zip up hoodie. I see no reason to stay here any longer," Tony said.

"That's my fearless leader. My dizziness is gone and my headache is manageable. I'm ready to get a real meal, have a drink and kick some fucking mafia ass," Mullen said.

"This is the man covering you six?" Gibbs asked as he walked in on Mullen and Tony.

"PJ Mullen, this is my boss: Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs," said Tony.

"The two of you need a few more days in the hospital," said Gibbs.

"Haven't you seen an Errol Flynn movie? He'd be lashed in the morning and swashbuckling my dinner," said Mullen.

"This isn't the movies," Gibbs growled.

"I know. They haven't served popcorn and soda pop since I've been here," said Mullen.

Gibbs glared at Mullen making Tony laugh.

"Gibbs, when are you leaving?" Tony asked.

"In two hours. Director Shepard and Ziva should be here soon to say goodbye," said Gibbs.

"Are you going to take care of what we talked about?" Tony asked.

"It's already started. Jenny made some calls to State and I've talked to a few people I know at DOD," he said. "We are working on something."

"Good," smiled Tony.

The door opened and Ziva and Jenny walked it. Both women were surprised to see Tony sitting up.

"Ahuvi, should you be sitting up?" asked Ziva.

"I'm bored," he said.

"That does not answer my question," she said.

"I'm fine, Ziva," he said.

"Tony. I think you are looking much better," said Jenny then she looked at Gibbs and Mullen. "Gentlemen, why don't we give them some privacy to say goodbye?"

"DiNozzo, head on a swivel and watch your six," said Gibbs as he followed Jenny out of the room.

Mullen got up smiled and then said, "Tsk, tsk, tsk."

Mullen left.

Once alone Ziva moved in between Tony's legs, placed her hands on his cheeks and kissed him. For a few moments all his pain disappeared as he lost himself in the kiss. She stopped and stepped back.

"Are you going to be alright?' he asked her.

"I am going to be fine, Tony," she said. "Once I am free of Mossad I am coming back to New York to be with you."

"I trust Gibbs and Jenny," he said.

"And I have faith that others will help," she smiled.

"You aren't telling me something, are you?" he asked.

"Do you trust me?" she asked him.

"With my life," he answered.

"Then trust me," she said and kissed him again.

"Okay, I'll trust you," he sighed as she pulled away.

Ziva started towards the door and stopped: "If Mossad lets me go, then I won't be able to go back to Israel and NCIS won't be able to employ since I'm not a citizen and Mossad will expect me out of my apartment. What will I do?"

He looked at her as she stood there smiling.

"You'll live with me and we'll just have to get married to keep you in the country," he smiled.

"Is that a proposal?" she asked.

"Yes, it was," he said.

"Then I say yes," Ziva laughed and then left Tony sitting on his bed with a grin on his face.


	11. Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

With a back that still screamed in pain from the whipping he was given, he opened the door to his hotel room and entered. Mullen and he signed themselves out AMA. They were wasting time in the hospital. The Five Families would be moving against Scalia and Scalia would up his battle against them. Any longer of a delay of action and the possibility of innocent lives being loss grew.

"What the hell are you two doing out of the hospital?" barked Fornell.

"Making life interesting," answered Tony. "It's what I do best."

"You realize, boss, that the blood is about to flow out there and we need to stop it," said Mullen.

"And how the hell can either one of you stop that?" asked Fornell.

"I need to talk to Vincent again," Tony said. "If a war is coming then Vincent now leads the Families. Pushing and prodding him is the right target. It will have a consequence that we might be able to use."

"Yeah, like your death," said Fornell."

"And I need to back up the crazy bastard," Mullen added.

"Okay," Fornell inhaled then slowly exhaled. "How's your back?"

"Ouch," Tony said.

He then looked at Mullen: "And your head?"

"I'm lucky I don't have much inside of it to damage. I'm fine, Fornell," he answered.

"You're getting me and Stabile and Manetti backing you up this time. I want you wearing comm links and ear buds. You two are playing by some rules this time, so we can avoid another hospital trip," he said.

"No Kevlar, I won't wear it," said Mullen. "I'm not going to look like a pussy in front of the guidos."

"You know you have some serious issues, Mullen," Fornell growled at him.

"I know," replied Mullen.

NCIS

Dressed in a black overcoat Michael Rivkin kept a close eye on DiNozzo. He stood across from the Chelsea Hotel in a doorway. It was two in the morning. He was debating whether to sneak into his hotel room this evening and slice DiNozzo's throat while he slept, or to wait and put a bullet in his chest while he stared into his eyes. There was an appeal of watching the light go out of DiNozzo's eyes. Either way, thought, it would satisfy him just as long as he was dead and other of the way.

He knew which window belonged to DiNozzo. The light had just been turned off. All he had to do was wait twenty more minutes in the chill of night and then go in and kill him. Better tonight than wait an longer for an opening or an excuse.

He heard the sound of footsteps on the cement. Michael looked down the street to see Malachi with a smile on his face walking towards him. Michael relaxed. Ziva, well, he didn't trust her, though he did lust for her. Malachi he trusted.

"Where have you been, my friend?" Michael asked Malachi.

"I had to contact a few people in Director Meir's office," said Malachi.

"Anything important?" Rivkin asked.

It started to rain, so Malachi moved beside Michael in the door way.

"Are you thinking of killing him tonight?" asked Malachi.

Michael smiled: "It would make me happy. I can't stand the smug bastard."

"Director Meir's assistant Aaron Gold sends his best," said Michael.

"He was excremental, a cold, bloodless bastard. It was good to see him removed from Kidon," said Rivkin.

Malachi released a folded knife with a serrated blade pivoted and drove it into Michael's stomach then he moved the blade up and to the right doing as much damage as possible. The rain started to fall heavily.

"Malachi," Rivkin growled.

"You are expendable. Director David is not," Malachi said.

He pulled the blade out with a twist, stepped back into the pouring rain, folded the knife and put it in his pocket, then turned and walked away. Michael took his hands away from the wound and saw that they were covered in blood. He collapsed onto the cement sidewalk and slowly died, while his blood was washed away by the rain.

As Malachi walked in the rain he took out his smart phone and called Ziva.

"_David_," she answered.

"Michael is dead," He said not needing to introduce himself. There was no reason to be explicit about it, either. He wasn't proud about it.

"_Good_," she replied coldly.

"I have talk to contacts in Director Meir's office. They are aware of your father's mistake with you and your request. They will inform me how they wish to handle within twelve hours," he told her.

"_If they handle it the wrong way, they will regret it_," she said and then hung up.

She didn't realize it but she learned well from her father, Malachi thought. Eli David may have met his match and that match was Ziva David.

NCIS

Tony was awakened the sound of a police siren and then an ambulance. Looking out the window, he saw a dead body being loaded into the ambulance. It was a violent city, thought Tony. Some poor bastard must have been robbed and killed. It wasn't his problem, though. His uncle was his problem.

It was decided to meet at a Greek diner near Chelsea Hotel before taking off for Long Island. Tony dressed in a black Armani suit, white shirt, and black tie and thought Tarantino would be proud of him. When he stepped out of his room he noticed that Mullen was in the hallway talking up Manetti. He was dressed in a grey suit with white shirt and black tie. They both had a similar idea. If you to visit Vincent _The Butcher_ then you might as well look cool.

He nodded to Mullen, who then leaned in and whispered something to in her air and she laughed. Mullen then walked down the hall to Tony.

"Morning, boss, are we going to have fun today?" he asked.

"You are going to go prod a black bear with a stick and hope it doesn't attack. Does that sound like fun to you?" he asked Mullen.

"It might be a giggle," he said.

They converged on the Greek dinner for their breakfast meeting. Taking over a table they ordered breakfast mainly a toasted bagel and cream cheese, except Mullen and Tony who both ordered the Irish breakfast.

"How the hell can you eat right now?" asked Manetti.

"I felt like blood pudding, Angela," said Mullen.

"I'm hungry and Irish breakfasts are good," added Tony.

"I'll take a car and Stabile and Manetti will be in a care. You two will have ear buds and comms. If we have the words Family is Family, we are coming in with guns drawn," said Fornell.

"Sounds good to me," said Tony.

"I expect you two to push some buttons to get the desired affect then get out of there alive," Fornell said.

"So, after we eat then it's a nice drive out to Long Island and Cold Spring Harbor on the North Shore of Long Island," said Tony.

Long Island was beautiful, especially Cold Spring Harbor where Vincent lived and even more so South Hampton where Anthony, Snr. lived. Tony forgotten how beautiful it could be, mixing fishing village with small town and nice homes and mansions all set by the ocean. He didn't really miss it, though, because of what it represented to him: his father's family. Once his mother died in his mind this became enemy territory.

Mullen hummed to fill the silence as Tony drove. Tony vaguely recognized the song.

"What are you humming?" he asked.

"_Fairytale of New York_. The Pogues," he said. "Shane MacGowan is a genius."

"So isn't Frank Sinatra," said Tony.

"No argument," smiled Mullen. "Think Uncle Vinnie is going to be happy to see you?"

"Yes and no. I am about to break with my family in a way I've never done before. I've always been respectful of Vincent because of the way he treated me, but now I'm going to be a fucking hard ass cop," said Tony.

"No more Christmas cards, huh?" asked Mullen.

"Nope," said Tony.

"I don't blame you. There comes a time when they are the enemy no matter how well you know them," Mullen said.

"And that time has finally come for me," Tony said.

"To think all it took was to be whipped like a fucking dog," said Mullen.

"Yeah, that's all it took," he sighed.

Vincent's house was a mansion, near the harbor with a dock and a boat and a security fence and gate. Some of his soldiers worked for him as security. It was a way of working yourself up the ladder. Tony drove up to the gate then rolled down the window and pressed the buzzer on a security panel.

"What do you want?" the voice asked.

"Tony DiNozzo to see Vincent DiNutso," he said.

"Wait," the voice said.

It didn't take long for the gate to start to open. He drove up the driveway to the front door of the mansion. He came to a stop in front of the house. Mullen got out and as two of Vincent's men came out of the house to pat them down, he did a quick draw startling them. When a third came out of the house he had Tony pointing his weapon at him.

"We are here for a short visit," Tony said.

Tony walked past Mullen, who now had three men in his sights, and into the house.

"Yo, Uncle Vincent, Boss of fucking Bosses, the unwanted fucking nephew is here," he yelled.

The first people he saw come out of the woodwork were Paulo, Vinnie, and Johnny looking pissed. Tony had his gun down at his side, but he waved it at them to show he was holding and they shouldn't do anything.

"What's up, Tony?" asked Johnny who had the most balls and brains of the three.

"Oh, I don't know, Johnny, I guess I got tired of being this family's whipping boy, literally," he said.

"Hey, cuz, chill the fuck out," said Paulo.

"Shut the fuck up, Paulo. I've never heard anything smart come out of your mouth and I want to remember you that way," growled Tony.

"Anthony," Vincent's voice boomed from another room then he entered the huge front hall with its grand staircase.

"Hello, Uncle," he said.

"What is this disrespect about?" he asked.

"Well, I was hanging from a wall getting whipped and suddenly came to me, my family sucks," he said.

His gather exited now. He had a scowl on his face: "You piece of shit, show respect."

"Hi, dad, I love you, too," said Tony.

"I should…" he started to yell, but Tony placed a bullet right between his legs taking a chunk out of the marble floor.

His father went from angry to frightened of his son. Vincent on the other hand smiled.

"Shut up, dad, and let the grownups talk," Tony said.

"You have a problem, Anthony," said Vincent.

"Yeah, I've got a problem being whipped and now I'm going to make it this family's problem and all the Families' problem. You taught me a lesson and that lesson is that you are strangers to me and I'm going to enjoy putting you away," said Tony.

"As if you could," his father spoke up.

"Like I couldn't out think you, old man," said Tony.

"Anthony, you're going too far," said Johnny.

"I'm going too far. Beat the federal agent and then accuse him of going too far when he takes it personally. You know what I have to say to that, Johnny?" he asked.

"No, what?" replied Johnny.

"It's jail time for some of you," said Tony. "I am going to put some of you bastards away."

"What about Scalia?" asked Vincent.

"He's going to down, but now you people are going down with him," said Tony.

"Do your worst, Anthony?" said Vincent.

"Uncle Vincent, thank you for the kindness you have shown to me over the years," he said. "The back, teaching me a lesson, I can forgive as a man. You were just doing Family business. But as a Fed, you fucked up, you went too far, and people are going to have to pay for that."

"If you don't get out of here now, I'll have charges brought against you for attempted assault," said Anthony, Snr.

"Is he really a good consigliere, Vincent? It's hard to believe," said Tony.

Vincent smiled then walked forward and embraced Tony. He whispered in his ear: "You would have made a brilliant Don. Now go and do you worse, Anthony, just don't hurt your cousins."

"Send them away, Vincent. Keep them safe and send them away on business," Tony said.

Vincent kissed his cheek then turned and walked away. Tony smiled. It was his I don't give a shit smile.

"Well, it's been a pleasure as usual," he said then turned and stormed out of the house.

Mullen was sitting on the hood of the car holding a gun on the three guards. Tony came out.

"Everything, okay?" he asked.

"Peachy," he said.

"Not a big fan of peaches," he said as she slid off the hood of the car and got into the passenger seat. "We good?"

"The pot has been stirred," Tony said.

"Let me guess, no more family, said Mullen.

"I still have family, just not them," he smiled then pulled away and drove away putting his family in his rearview mirror.

NCIS

Ziva's smart phone rang. She looked at it but the ID was blocked, so she answered it.

"Yes," she said.

"_It is Officer Bashan. You need to come to the Embassy so we can settle this business_," he said.

"I don't trust you, Michael," said Ziva.

"_You don't have to. Your threats have done their work. Deputy Director David wishes to speak to you and then there are few other matters we must take care of. You have won, Ziva. Be a gracious winner_," he said.

"I will be there soon," she said.

She made sure of entering the embassy from the front because she wanted to be on tape. Ziva no longer felt like an employee of Mossad so wasn't going to act like one. Stopping at the security desk she waited for Michael to come collect her.

"Ziva," Michael said as he appeared at the desk, "follow me."

She knew where they were going. They were headed to ops in the basement, so Eli could have his say. Getting on an elevator Ziva stiffened her resolve. She knew if she went through with this that she'd never be allowed in Israel again. It was a large price to pay, but she was willing to pay it to stay in the United States with Tony.

The elevator stopped and they got. They continued on to the ops center. As they entered Michael Bashan barked orders.

"Bring up Deputy Director David."

Ziva watched as the large plasma screen went from blank to an image of her father. He looked visibly upset and maybe even greyer.

"Officer David, you have caused me nothing but trouble and all over Agent Meatball," he snarled.

"Rivkin is dead," she said.

"I know. He was a good man," said Eli.

"He was incompetent," she offered.

"Do you hate your people so much?" he asked.

"No, I love my people. I hate you and how you have manipulated me," she answered him.

"You are my daughter. I can do with you what I wish," he growled.

"Not any longer, Eli," she spat.

"No, not anymore. You are not my daughter anymore," he said.

"Poor, Eli, you have lost a weapon to use," she said.

"I have been told by Director Meir to leave Agent DiNozzo alone. And you will be given your release from Mossad under three conditions: one you sign an oath never to share those secrets you own; two, you will have your Israeli citizenship and passport revoked; and three, you will not be allowed to legally enter Israel again in your life. Do you agree to these conditions?"

Ziva closed her eyes. She was now a woman without a country that she had loved and had done so much to protect.

"I agree," she said.

"Michael will have papers for you to sign. Once you sign them then everything Mossad has given you: apartment, car, and support will be revoked. You will have nothing."

"I will have my freedom from you," she said.

"Yes, you will. I wish never to see you again after I say this: You are not worthy to carry the name David. We have protected Israel but you chose to protect a man."

"A man I love and who loves me," she said.

"Then he is a fool," said Eli. "Have your Agent DiNozzo and choke on him and his weak ways."

"Goodbye, Eli, I wish you were a better father," Ziva said then she turned on back on the man.

He nodded and the screen went blank. Michael Bashan came to her side and said softly: "You bested him, so he hates you now. Later, he will come to regret this parting and try to reach out to you. That is when he is at his most dangerous. Eli does love you, but he doesn't know how to be a father. He only knows how to be a spymaster. You are his daughter and a great asset. He will miss the asset more than the daughter."

"Why do you tell me this, Michael?" she asked.

"Because you may regret someday what you have done here. Do not. You served your country enough. Now have a life," he said.

"I have papers to sign," she said.

"Call you bank first and transfer the funds in your account. There is no reason to lose all your money," he said.

"Why do you do this?" she asked.

"Because you have served your country well. I am not heartless," he said.

"Thank you, Michael," she said softly.

"Oh, and that say your father does come to his senses and you spurn him. He will be even more dangerous than before. Be cautious and strike him down for real then," he said. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely."

"You have been in this country too long, Michael. You are starting to sound like an American," she said.

"I know," he laughed.


	12. Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

"I've got an arrest warrant issued for Mikey Palmeri for murder," said Fornell.

The investigative side of the Task Force had come up with trace evidence and a partial finger print leading to Genovese enforcer Mikey Palmeri. The Task Force sat around a conference table at 26 Federal Plaza.

"He should be easy to find. These guidos are nothing if not predictable," said Sacks.

Fornell glared at him, while Mullen laughed.

"And he's a senior agent. Sometimes I wonder if FBI means Fucking Bureaucratic Idiots," Mullen continued to laugh.

Sacks glared at him and was ready to dress him down, but an amused Fornell stepped in to stop it.

"Mullen, don't start a fight, even though it's what you do best," said Fornell.

"We collect a list of his favorite haunts and start visiting them with some NYPD blue boys as or backup then we'll have him in no time," Sacks said.

"His crew will protect him and the minute you get a warrant issued he'll know about it because the Genovese have cops, lawyers, judges, and politicians in their back pocket," said Tony. "If you want to find Mikey, then you look in Jersey not Queens or Brooklyn."

"The Family tell you this," said Sacks.

"Eat me," smiled Tony, drawing laughs from several of the other Task Force members.

"Sacks, you check Queens and Brooklyn and Tony you check where you think he'll be," said Fornell.

"PJ, you up for a trip to New Jersey?" he asked Mullen.

"The Garden State. I'd love a trip to the land of Bon Jovi. Do you know what Bon Jovi means?" Mullen said.

"No, what?" asked Sacks.

"It means good Jovi," Mullen smiled.

Sacks snarled at him.

"Which of the Five Families should be pressure first?" asked Fornell ignoring Mullen smartass ways.

"Mario Barone and the Bonanno Family," Tony said. "They're vulnerable."

"Okay, start leaning on Barone," Fornell said to one Special Agent Murrell.

Tony got up as did Stabile, Manetti, and Mullen.

"I take it you four are a team on this," said Fornell.

"You know it," said Tony.

"Take two cars and have fun in New Jersey," Tobias said.

"Sure, Fornell," said Tony.

NCIS

Ziva came into NCIS and the bullpen. She was a woman without a country, a place to live, or a job. She stayed last night at Tony's picking the lock because she knew he wouldn't mind. Now she had to confront her new reality. McGee looked over at her.

"Ziva, are you alright?" he asked.

"I will be, Tim," she said. "Where is Gibbs?"

"Upstairs in the Director's officer. He's been up there for a half hour," he said.

"I should go see them," she said.

She walked up the stairs to the mezzanine level. Without stopping and speaking to Cynthia she walked into Jenny's office where Gibbs stood in front of her desk talking to her. They both stopped speaking and looked at her. From the expression on their faces she knew that they knew about her new situation.

"Close the door and come in, Ziva," said Jenny. "I heard from Eli today bright and early."

"So you know what has happened," she said.

"Ziver, it's for the best," Gibbs said.

"I told him not to bother sending another liaison. I won't have one," Jenny said.

"I am now illegal in this country, though," she said.

"I am working on that, Ziva," said Jenny.

"You'll stay with me at my house until we work everything out," said Gibbs.

"Tony should know about what has happened. He deserves to know," she said.

"He will know. I'll call Fornell and tell him to have DiNozzo call me," said Gibbs.

"Once we get you permanent residency then I'll work on getting you a job here. Your language skills alone make you valuable enough to have people take shortcuts," said Jenny. "We'll take care of you, Ziva."

"Thank you, Jenny. Thank you, Gibbs," she said softly.

"Family does what it needs to do for family," Gibbs said to her making her eyes burn with tears.

He walked over to her enveloped her in a hug and she started to sob. She may have lost a country and a father, but it appeared that she found a whole new family.

NCIS

Jersey City had its good areas and its bad areas, but the purpose that brought Tony and his team there was that it had a Genovese safe house. On a street filled with brownstone with a Catholic Church at one end and a Greek Orthodox Street at the other, a three brick house held Mikey Palmeri and four of his men.

Tony knew about this place because of his childhood friend who was a Genovese soldier. Since he'd arrived in NYC he'd been texting with Marco without letting anyone know. Though, Marco was a soldier, his days of being a loyal soldier were long past, though. He had seen too many people double crossed or killed out of whim. Made man could kill indiscriminately and not get into trouble, but a foot soldier could get his ass whacked just for talking back. He knew loyalty was bought and Tony was offering him WitSec once this was over, a new life somewhere other than NYC, a life without having to deal with assholes who'd kill you for talking back.

"We'll park a couple of blocks away and then visit the bad men," said Mullen into the smart phone to Manetti. "Maybe afterwards we can have a drink?"

"_Mullen, I told you that I don't date co-workers. It gets too messy when it's over_," she said.

"Well, to be fair, it's always messy when it's over if it's done correctly," said Mullen.

"_You really are incorrigible," _she laughed.

"What if I join NCIS, will you date me then?" he asked.

"_You'd leave the FBI just to date me_?" she asked him.

"Darling, you'd be amazed at what I'd do for," Mullen said.

"_I'll think about it_," she hung up.

"You really like her," said Tony.

"She tickles my fancy," he said.

"You'd come work for NCIS?" Tony asked him.

"Sure. I think you and I work well together, don't you?" said Mullen.

"We do," Tony said with grin.

They parked their cars and got out and started to walk towards the safe house. When they got close, Tony spoke.

"Mullen and I will go in through the front door. You two find a back door and take it," he said.

"Gives us ten minutes," said Stabile.

Tony nodded and Stabile and Manetti headed back down the block to the public alleyway so they could find the back door.

"We aren't waiting ten minutes, are we?" asked Mullen.

"No. I just don't want them to get hurt," Tony said as he pulled at his bullet proof vest.

"Good," Mullen smiled, "let's go."

Both Tony and Mullen made sure that their jackets were open so people could see their badges attached to their belts then they pulled their Glocks and headed towards the stoop leading up to the front door. They headed up the steps and then Tony looked at the apartment buzzer.

"They have the first floor apartment," he said then he pressed the second and third buzzers until someone buzzed them.

Once they were in the hallway, he stood on one side of the door and Mullen on the other side of it. Tony held up three fingers to let him know that they were going on the count three. Mullen nodded yes. Just when Tony was about to move to kick down the door, a shotgun blast blew a hole in the front door at head level.

"Down!" yelled Tony.

Both men hit the deck as the shotgun was used to blow holes in the walls where they were standing. Mullen got up first, stuck his gun in the in the wall and started firing. Tony flipped over onto his back in front of the door then kicked it open and opened fire on a man with a shotgun putting three rounds in his chest. He noticed that there was another man down with a head wound.

In an attempt to protect Tony, who was still on the floor, Mullen stepped in from of him and took a blast in his chest. He took to the air and slammed against the across from the apartment. Tony didn't have time to check as he opened fire putting one in his kneecap and one in his head as he fell.

Tony got up and quickly checked the living room. It was then that he heard gunfire in the back and assumed that Stabile and Manetti had caught Mikey as he tried to leave through the back. Tony rushed over to Mullen, who groaning in pain.

"For fucksake who the hell invited these fucking tiny vests," Mullen complained.

Tony helped him sit up then took off his mangled vest to check to see if he was wounded and bleeding. The vest held up, but Tony that his torso and back must be bruised and battered from the blast and flight against the wall.

"I'm going to live," Mullen said.

"Yeah, you are," he said.

Tony opened Mullen's shirt to see his chest was already red with welts and would soon turn an ugly eggplant purple. Mullen had a grimace of pain contorting his face. Tony knew the feeling.

"Stabile has Mikey cuffed on the ground," Manetti said. "Why the hell did you two not wait for us?"

"Circumstances changed," was all Tony would say.

She got close enough to Mullen's bruising and took in an intake of air.

"Jesus, PJ, are you okay?" she asked.

"Been better, Angela," he said.

"Let me check on him," she said as she moved Tony aside, which brought a smile to his lips. "I'll call a bus for him."

"I don't need one," he protested.

"Yes, you do. Now shut up," she said as she caressed his face.

Tony got up and watched for a second as Manetti checked on him. For a moment it reminded him of him and Ziva. On one hand she was protective of him and on the other hands she was a hair's breadth away from kicking his ass into a coma. He chuckled and went in to check on the bodies. Three dead and Mikey in cuffs, it was a good first move to send a message back to the Families. He took out his smart phone and to call Fornell, while in the background he head police sirens headed towards them.

"_Fornell_," he answered.

"We have Mikey in custody and three of his men are dead," Tony said.

"_Anybody hurt on your end_?" asked Fornell.

"Mullen took a shotgun blast to the chest protecting me. His vest stopped him from buying the farm but he definitely bruised and maybe has a couple of broken bones," he said.

"_Good work. Bring Palmeri to Fed Plaza to be interviewed. I'll go it myself_," said Fornell.

"I hear. By the way two of the bodies were mine, but I am not handing in my gun for an IA investigation just yet," Tony said.

"_I agree. I delay it_," Fornell said.

"Thank, Tobias," he sighed.

"_Be careful, Tony_," Fornell said.

"I'm always careful," Tony said then hung up.

Tony stared at the dead men knowing this was just the beginning.

NCIS

After reports and watching Fornell futilely interrogated Mikey, Tony called it a night. He received a call from Angela that Mullen had no broken bones but a mild concussion from hitting his head on the wall. He was being kept the night for observation and she was going to stay with him.

He went back to the hotel just to sleep and not think about the day. As he opened up the door to his room, he was greeted by Malachi who was sitting in a chair facing the door with a gun with a suppressor on it.

"Please, Agent DiNozzo, come in and let us talk," said Malachi.

"Who are you?" he asked as he shut the door.

"Officer Malachi Ben-Gidon, Mossad. I am here because some of your rogue mafia has been selling guns to terrorists to raise money," he said.

"Tommy Scalia," said Tony.

Malachi smiled: "I am going to enjoy you."

"What do you want?" Tony asked.

"To kill Scalia. I am Kidon and that means I do the dirty work for Mossad," he said.

"Don't tell me you want my help," smiled Tony.

"Very much so," said Malachi.

"Why should I help you?" he asked.

"Because now that your girlfriend is no longer Mossad and has been banished by her father, she will need someone to keep eyes and ears open in case someone is sent for her," he said.

"Ziva. What has happened with Ziva?" he demanded.

"She negotiated herself out of Mossad with a sledge hammer and hand her passport and citizenship revoked by Israel. To say the least her father is disappointed in her," said Malachi.

"Why did she use a sledge hammer?" asked Tony.

"You. Her father put a hit out on you because of your relationship with his daughter. In killing the hit she burned bridges and made enemies," Malachi said.

"I serve you up Scalia and you protect Ziva in Mossad," said Tony.

"What do you think about my proposition?" asked Malachi.

"Well, done, Malachi Ben-Gidon. You have put me in the perfect vise. You know I love Ziva and I'd want, no, need to know when she is in danger. Then there is Scalia. He's scum, selling guns to terrorists, starting a war against the Families which will get people killed. Yeah, you are good," he said.

"So what is the answer?" asked Malachi.

"I'd give my life for Ziva. I won't give her life for Scalia," said Tony.

"So we have an agreement," smiled Malachi.

"We have an agreement. I'll find Scalia and tell you can to find him," Tony said.


	13. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Ziva sat in Gibbs' basement nursing a mason jar of bourbon getting very drunk and watching him build his boat. Her usually buried emotions were coming to the surface. Gibbs was using his hand sander on a rough piece of wood while letting her deal in her own way.

"Fornell said he was too busy to interrupt Tony," said Ziva.

"Yup. He was bringing in a mafia enforcer. He wanted Tony to have his head in the game," said Gibbs.

"Still, he could have told him. Tony chew a candy bar and walk at the same time," Ziva said.

Gibbs stopped sanding and looked at her for a moment wondering if he should correct her idiom. He didn't know whether to be amused or annoyed that she was drunk on his bourbon. Of course, after the past couple days she had a right to tie one on.

"You miss, DiNozzo," he said.

She smiled then blushed, which made Gibbs roll his eyes and wish he hadn't asked.

"I am in love with him, Gibbs, and I love him. It is strange but I can't help myself," Ziva said.

"Well, you'll talk to him soon," he said.

This was then that Gibbs cellphone rang. He took it out of his jeans and looked at it then answered.

"Yeah," he said.

"_Boss, is Ziva alright_?" Tony asked.

"I'm looking at her right now. She is drunk but fine," he said.

"_Drunk? Ziva is drunk. It takes a lot to get her drunk, boss,_" he said.

"I know. She's been drink my bourbon. You owe me a bottle," sighed Gibbs.

"_Mossad let her go_?" Tony asked.

"Yup. Kicked her out of the country, too. She has no place to live, no job, and a boyfriend in New York working for the FBI instead of being here to console her," he said.

"_Can I speak to her, boss_?" asked Tony.

Gibbs held up the cellphone and said: "It's DiNozzo. He wants to talk to you."

She rushed over and took the phone and spoke to him: "Ahuvi, I miss you."

"_I miss you, too, Zi_," Tony said.

"I have no home," she said almost sounding like a lost little girl, which broke Tony's heart.

"_Yes, you do_," he said. "_You have a home with me_. _You will always have a home with me._"

"Do I?" she said with her eyes filling up.

"_Yes, my love. Don't worry about staying in the country. We'll take care of that. Tell Gibbs that I'll marry you when I come back to DC_," he said.

"Marry me?" she repeated.

"_Of course, I'd marry you. I love you and I'm not letting you go anywhere_," he said.

"I love you, too," Ziva said and started to cry.

Gibbs took the cellphone away from her and then wrapped his right arm around her. He put the cellphone up to his ear.

"Thanks for leave me with a crying woman on my hands," he growled.

"_I told her that I'd marry her boss_," he said.

"We'll deal with that when you come back to DC," snarled Gibbs then he hung up.

"Come on, Ziver, it's time to go to sleep," he started to walk her to the stairs.

"He loves me, Gibbs, and wants to marry me," she sobbed. "I made the right choice, right?"

"Yeah, you made the right choice," he said.

NCIS

Tony's newest problem was finding information on Scalia which would help Malachi in his mission. He was less than thrilled with the idea of being involved in an assassination but he knew he needed to protect Ziva. Malachi could be protecting her six in Israel, which meant he had to help him.

He dressed in jeans, OSU tee shirt, a fisherman's sweater and his leather jacket then clipped his badge to his belt and his gun back on his right hip. Once he exited into the hallway he saw Manetti trying to quietly exit Mullen's room. This brought a grin to his mouth. He cleared his throat and she looked at him guiltily.

"Oh, about one in the morning he finally signed out AMA because he was sick of the nurses checking on me. I stayed with him to make sure he was alright," she explained.

"Yeah," Tony smirked. "If you see Fornell then tell him I've gone out doing some scouting."

"Sure," she said then added. "Do you need backup?"

"No. I'm not going to do anything dangerous. Just scouting some things," he said.

He smiled to sell his lie. She smiled back. It was sold. Tony continued towards the exit to the staircase. Once he was out on the street he headed to the parking garage where they were keeping the cars. He had the keys to the Charger.

The last time he texted Marco and asked him where to check for Scalia and his crew, he responded by telling to look in Inwood near The Cloisters. Marco had actually been in contact with the Young Turks, who assumed he would join them. No one realized he already had a deal worked out with Agent DiNozzo. Inwood was above Harlem starting at Dyckman Street and going to Harlem River. On the westside of Inwood there was an ethnic mix, while on the eastside it was mainly Latino.

Scalia knew better than to place his safe house in one of the areas where the Five Families were strong. Inwood allowed him to have a sense of safety. Of course, Marco told him that Scalia had a fetish about the cloisters. He liked to visit there almost on a daily basis, when he was up in Inwood hiding.

The cloisters overlooked the Hudson River. Created by an endowment from John D Rockefeller it incorporated five French cloistered abbeys in Fort Tyron Park. It was now a branch of the Met housing medieval art work, as well as performances of medieval music. As Tony walked around the rooms of the Cloister, he wondered by it appealed to Scalia. He wanted to get into the man's head a little, yet he couldn't reconcile Scalia's actions and his love the Cloister.

Exiting the Cloisters he caught a glimpse of a man in black cashmere overcoat with black hair. Tony noticed the shoes he was wearing were expensive Italian shoes. He followed the man who walked to the parapets that were by the edge of the land. The man stopped their and stared out at the New Jersey Palisades. He remembered that Scalia was from the Palisades and this was a beautiful view of the Palisades. Scalia didn't visit the Cloistered, but instead he visited a view the place he was born and grew up. He was staring at his past.

Scalia turned after ten minutes and walked away. Tony took out his smart phone and called Malachi.

"_Yes, Tony_," he answered.

"Scalia visits the Cloisters everyday but not for the museum. He visits for the view of New Jersey," Tony told him.

"_If I was to show up tomorrow and wait long enough then he would appear_," said Malachi.

"Yes," replied Tony.

"_So tomorrow could be his last day, if I am in the right place at the right time_," he said.

"Try between two and three in the afternoon. He loves the view of the Palisades," Tony told him.

"_I need his number two also_," said Malachi.

"You didn't ask for him before," said Tony.

"_I need his number two, also. Deputy Director David told me to kill him, also_," said Malachi.

"His name is Joey Notaro," said Tony. "He will be a little more difficult to find. Joey likes to stay in motion."

"_I wouldn't have a problem if you killed him for me instead of found him_," said Malachi.

"I'll find him," said Tony.

"_Good. Find him_," Malachi said. "_Thank you, Tony. By helping me you are helping Ziva. Just keep that in mind_."

"Does Daddy David know I'm helping?" he asked.

"_Yes_," said Malachi.

"He wanted Notaro the moment he found out I was helping you," he said.

"_He doesn't know about our deal, Tony. He only knows that you helping me_," Malachi said.

"That's for the knife in my back," Tony said.

"_Tony, I am Mossad_," Malachi said then paused. "_You're right I would put a knife in your back_."

"He wants something to hold over my head, doesn't he?" said Tony.

"_Probably_," said Malachi.

"How will he use me? Will he use me to get to Ziva?" he asked.

"_You are too valuable an asset just to use against Ziva. He will save you for something important_," said Malachi. "_I will try and give you notice before it happens. Now find Notaro." _

"Good working with you," Tony said then hung up.

Tony looked over at the verdant view of the palisades. He took a deep breath of fresh air then exhaled.

"I am fucked," he said to himself then took his phone out and texted Marco.

NCIS

When Gibbs came home he found Ziva sitting in the dark in the living on the sofa. Her hair was down and she looked as if she had spent the day reliving memories, as there was a haunted quality to her face. He understood that look, as he had seen it many times in the mirror.

"What's wrong, Ziver?" he asked.

"Thinking about my life, Gibbs," she said.

He took off his overcoat and hung it up then went and sat beside her.

"My father trained me from an early age to be a killer, not a daughter but a killer," she said.

"Your father is an asshole," he said.

"He wanted me to be the sharp end of the spear in order to keep Israel safe," she said.

"Still doesn't change the fact that he is an asshole," he said.

She smiled and put her head on his shoulder then he shifted his arm and put it around her giving her comfort.

"When I was ten and my mother was taking me to ballet classes, I loved them. I loved the toe shoes and the tights and dancing. Once class was over, my father or one of his friends would pick me up and take me to martial arts training," she said. "The joy of dancing had to be balanced with the discipline of fighting."

"You should have had only dancing in your life, Ziver," Gibbs said.

"I wish I had been your daughter, Gibbs," she mumbled.

He kissed the top of her head.

"Well, you and Abby are now the closest thing I have to daughters. I don't mind that," he said.

"I would like that very much," she said. "Eli loved me as a tool. I'd like to be loved as a daughter."

"Okay, Ziver," he said and he relaxed into him.

"I wish Tony was here," she said.

"He is a lucky man to have you. Do you know that?" he said to her.

"I am lucky to have him, though I have a hard time showing him that," she said.

"He knows, Ziver. He knows," Gibbs said.

NCIS

It was the second time he caught Manetti leaving Mullen's room, but this time Mullen was leaving with her. He looked over at Tony and smiled lasciviously and blushed at the same time. It was quite a feat.

"I need to change," she said and went to her room.

Mullen walked over to Tony who was tucking his blue dress shirt into his jeans.

"What does Fornell have in mind for us today?" Mullen asked.

"I guess she doesn't mind you being FBI any longer," Tony remarked.

Mullen smiled again: "I told her I'd transfer if she wants to have a relationship beyond New York City."

"And her response was?" asked Tony.

"So, how do I apply to be on your team?" asked Mullen.

"You mean Gibbs' team," Tony said.

"After this they have to give you a team of your own. I mean your team," he said.

"PJ, I'm Gibbs SFA," Tony said.

"If you say," Mullen said. "I'll be on Gibbs team then."

"Maybe," smiled Tony.

Fornell exited his room and looked at Mullen and Tony.

"What are you two up to?" he asked. "You look guilty."

"I'm not guilty of anything except being me," said Mullen.

"That's enough for me," said Fornell. "And you, DiNozzo?"

"I'm guilty of so many things, Tobias, it's just not worth mentioning," he said.

"What are you going to do today?" asked Fornell.

"I was going to see if I can get a lead on Notaro," said Tony.

"Sounds good to me," said Mullen.

"You sure you are up to it?" asked Tony.

"Yeah. Batter and bruised but unbowed," said Mullen. "Where do we look for him?"

"Strip joints in Queens, Manhattan, and New Jersey," he said.

"Like you could keep me away from that," Mullen smiled. "We have to stop so I can get a shitload of singles."

"You're not supposed to be enjoying yourself, Mullen," said Fornell.

"I'm only human, Fornell," said Mullen.

"I'd tell you to make him behave but I'm not too sure about you," Fornell said.

"Trust me, Fornell, all I want to do is find Joey Notaro," said Tony.

"Get out of here the two of you," said Fornell.

NCIS

They were on their third strip club of the day. Mullen was ogling the young woman with the surgically enhanced breasts on the stage, while Tony worked the bartenders and the waitress trying to get a bead on Notaro. The smell of the stale liquor was starting to get on his nerves, so he grabbed Mullen and exited onto a street in Queens.

"Come up with nothing again?" asked Mullen.

"Nothing and they're not lying," Tony said.

It was just then that his smart phone rang and he answered it.

"DiNozzo," said Tony.

"_We finally found Tommy Scalia_," said Fornell.

Tony's heart skipped a beat then ended up in his throat.

"_Where is he_?" asked Tony.

"_Dead. Two bullets in the back at the Cloisters. I'm having the body brought to the FBI MEs_," said Fornell.

"The one of the Families did it?" he asked.

"_Who else_?" said Fornell. "_We have to find Notaro_."

"I got you, Fornell," Tony hung up then looked at Mullen.

"_What's wrong_?" Mullen asked looking at Tony's expression of upset.

"Scalia has been knocked off," he said.

"One down," smiled Mullen, "a shitload to go."


	14. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Tony and Mullen stood by Fornell's temporary desk in Federal Plaza as he talked on the phone. Malachi had killed Scalia, one down, thought Tony. Now all he needed to do was find Notaro and part of this nightmare would be over. Well, at least part of this night would be over. But, his uncle was now the Boss of Bosses and gaining even more power. His father would benefit from that power, which Tony didn't want to see. Fornell hung up.

"The gun used was a Glock 22," said Fornell.

"Nothing special," said Mullen.

"I'll put Sacks and his team on trying to track it down," said Fornell.

"I see we don't want to find it," remarked Mullen.

Fornell looked at Tony: "Okay, give me your opinion. Who did this and what happens next?"

Tony took a deep breath. He had to be honest with Fornell. This was the reason he was co-leading the Task Force. He understood the mafia better than anyone else because of his unique prospective.

"Okay, I'm thinking this was a hit and done by someone better than one of the Genovese enforcers," Tony said.

"Two well-placed rounds in the back at distance with a suppressor and no one noticed the shooter. Scalia fell over the edge of parapet. If he had survived the bullets, which was unlikely, the fall was meant to kill him," said Fornell.

"That is not mafia style," said Tony.

"I agree," Fornell said. "Go on."

"Probably someone who has been hired out, more than likely one of the Five Families," Tony suggested.

"Okay, that would make sense," Fornell replied. "What does Vincent and your father do about this?"

"They let this play out on Vincent's orders. The man whose sperm was used to conceive would want Notaro dead and as many of their followers as he could get his hands on because he likes to keep things clean, but Vincent won't want that. He'll want Notaro dead. With the head and the most dangerous soldier gone, Vincent then could recruit those he thinks are quality into the family and let the rest run off to the rest of the families," Tony explained. "I think Vincent has aspirations of bringing the mafia back to its old level of strength. He'll bring back the Commission and start exerting his authority on all the Families once Notaro is dead."

"Won't anyone stand up against him?" asked Fornell.

"The Gambino's. Sammy Favazza will try to stand up against him, but that mook will be used as an example more than as a real threat," said Tony.

Fornell smiled: "Sammy The Midget."

"Yeah, Sammy The Midget," Tony smiled.

"So, what do we do?" asked Mullen.

"Find Notaro before the hit man and bring him in and make him talk," said Fornell.

"We should split up. We can cover twice as many strip joints in half the time that way," suggested Tony.

"If you find him you make a call for backup and don't try anything alone," warned Fornell. "I want this bastard. I want this to lead to reigning in the Families not helping them."

"I would never endanger the lives of strippers, Fornell, you should know that," said Mullen.

"I had a feeling you'd say something like that," Fornell chuckled.

"I'd have Stabile and Manetti check brothels in queens, Brooklyn, Manhattan and New Jersey," said Tony. "He likes strippers and he likes prostitutes and when times are tough he hides among them."

"So, he likes professional girls," said Mullen.

"Yeah, he likes professional girls," repeated Fornell. "Get out of here and find Notaro. I'll put a BOLO out on him in the Tristate area."

"I'd see him in Connecticut, wouldn't you, Tony?" asked Mullen, as they walked to the elevator. "hey, Muffy, our swarthy neighbor is back."

"Yeah, not really his style," Tony said.

"Where are you looking?" asked Mullen.

"I'll take Jersey. You can take Manhattan," said Tony.

"God bless America and a job that allows a man to enjoy himself," said Mullen.

"I need to change my clothes for this," Tony said.

NCIS

Tony drove out to Hackensack, NJ, a place of small squat buildings and a few from a different area that didn't use prefabricated materials. He was headed for a place called El Diablo. Marco texted him telling him that it was Notaro's favorite place to hide when he was in trouble. Tony parked the car in the parking lot and got out. He was dressed faded jeans, an OSU football jersey, an OSHU hoodie, and a leather jacket. He wore his shoulder holster and kept his badge and ID in his back pocket. Walking up to the door, he purchased entry and walked into garishly decorated club.

He walked over to the bar and ordered a beer. One of the topless waitresses walked by him and smiled. He smiled back because he had to. After paying for the beer he turned and looked at the women dancing on tables with men surrounding them and a woman dancing on the main stage for all the men who lined that.

If Notaro was here he'd be in one of the backrooms. He had to get into the backrooms. Walking down towards the stage he sat down by the lip of the stage then took some money out of his wallet and dropped a few dollars on the stage. The dancer came over to him and started to dance for him. This wasn't really what he had intended.

Unexpectedly, he suddenly missed Ziva at this one moment. There was a time he'd have been as excited as Mullen to do this kind of job, but that time was gone. He'd rather be in DC right now with Ziva, comforting during a time that must be difficult for her. He'd rather be making plans with her for a future together than pretending he wanted to see these women undress.

The dancer leaned down and got close to him.

"You want some time alone with me? A lapdance?" she asked him.

"Sure," he put his best fake smile forward. A lapdance would gain him entry into the backrooms. Once in the back he'd be able to look for Notaro.

"See you in ten minutes," she said then she started to collect the money that was strewn on the stage floor for her.

Once she had collected the money, she rushed off stage. He'd purchase a lapdance which would allow him into the backrooms. It was a viable way to get into the back, so he shouldn't feel guilty. From there he could try and find out where the hell Notaro was hiding in the back then call Malachi and let him know where to find the bastard. For the time being his association with Mossad would be over.

The ten minutes passed quickly. The dancer, whose name was Amber which somehow didn't surprise Tony, came out and sat in Tony's lap.

"A lapdance is one and fifty for the top end," she said. "I'd love to give you one a special one."

"Sure," he said.

"Give me the money and I'll get us a key to a room in the back," she said.

He took out the money and handed her and she sashayed off to get the key to a room. When she returned she took him by the hand and led him into a maze of rooms in the back. From the sound of it more than lapdancing was happening in them.

"I think you are going to enjoy this," Amber said. "What's your name?"

"Tim," Tony said with a smirk. He kind of wished his probie was here instead of him.

"Tim," she smiled while repeating his name. "You like getting lapdances, Tim?"

"Sure, I love them," he said.

"I bet you don't have to pay for them too often," she said.

"No, not too often, only when I want to," he said.

She let them into a room then walked over to a CD player and started to play _Slim Shady. _Tony didn't know which was more horrifying, the music or her attempting at sexy dancing. He sat on a sofa and watched as she undulated towards him then sat in his lap cowboy style and started riding him dirty.

_Showering is definitely an option after this. Notaro better be here. _

She continued grinding on his to the rhythm of the song until he was almost ready to concede defeat and ask for a double shot of something really strong.

It was by luck that Notaro opened the door of the room and looked in.

"Hey, I'm working here," she said.

"Sorry," he smiled. "I liked the song."

His smile disappeared when he saw who she was giving the lapdance to.

"Fucking a DiNutso," he yelled as he went for his gun.

Tony tossed Amber aside for her own safety then pulled his gun from his shoulder holster. Notaro and he got off shots at the same time making Tony wish he had worn a vest. Because he was moving as he fired Notaro's shot burned pathway along the left ribcage, while his bullet entered Notaro's throat exploding his jugular vein and killing him.

"Fuck," Tony said as he was lying on the floor in pain.

He reached into his back pocket and showed a frightened and cowering Amber his badge.

"Federal officer," he said to her then with a great deal of discomfort and pain he sat up took his smart phone out and dialed Fornell.

"_Yeah, Tony_," Fornell answered.

"Found Notaro and, well, I had to kill him," he said.

"_Shit_," Fornell remarked.

"I'm sorry. It was me or him," Tony said.

"_Text me your address_," Fornell stated then hung up.

After texting the address to Fornell, he called Malachi.

"_You have information for me_," answered Malachi.

"I killed Notaro," said Tony.

"_Director David will be happy to hear you did it personally. Well, done. I will keep my end of our agreement_," he hung up.

Tony leaned against the wall in pain and bleeding staring at Notaro's dead body. Amber had yet to stop crying in the background he heard the Hackensack Police arriving. He didn't want to kill the bastard, especially doing Mossad's wet work for them, but now that it was done, at least part of his problem was over. Before he left New York and New Jersey area he needed to do a few other things, mainly come to some kind of accord with his family.

"Police, freeze!" a Hackensack cop yelled at him.

Tony dropped his gun and lifted his badge in the air so that they could see it.

"Federal officer, the FBI is on the way to take control of this crime scene," Tony said.

"Shit, that is one dead man," said the cop as he looked at Notaro and the pool of dark blood circling his head like a nimbus.

"Yeah, I know," Tony said.

"You ever hear of shooting for the knees or torso?" asked the cop.

"Sorry, I'll try better next time," smirked Tony.

NCIS

Fornell, Mullen, Stabile and Manetti arrived in two separate cars. The scene was filled with police cruisers and unmarked cars. People were being interviewed and a forensic crew was doing their thing. They found Tony sitting in an ambulance getting stitched up by an EMT since he refused to do to the hospital. He looked worn out.

"How many stitches?" asked Mullen.

"Fifteen," said the EMT then he said to Tony. "I'll give you some painkillers for tonight and tomorrow. Get that looked at by a doctor."

"Sure," he mumbled.

"Well, it could have been worse," said Mullen, "you could be in a body bag."

"Thanks, PJ," said Tony.

"What the hell happened?" asked Fornell.

"He saw me before I saw him," was the answer.

"Really?" Fornell asked.

"I was getting a lapdance in order to get into the backrooms. He opens the door while a dancer is grinding on my lap because he liked the music. He takes one look at me yells DiNutso and opens fire. Jesus, I really hate being part of that family. Maybe I should change my name. So, I return fire and kill him," explained Tony.

"I don't know if you a lucky bastard or an unlucky bastard," said Fornell.

"I'm not sure, either, Tobias," said Tony.

"What's next?" asked Mullen.

"I'm not leaving until we make sure my uncle and father don't end up too powerful," said Tony. "We need Justice Department lawyers, some Marshalls and a safe house to store someone in while he tells us everything he knows."

"Why?" asked Fornell.

"I've got a Genovese foot soldier willing to talk for a price. He wants WitSec and a new life somewhere boring where he can live a long life and maybe get married," Tony said.

Fornell smiled: "Let's bring him in and start getting him to talk."

"He probably won't be able to give us Vincent or my father because he's too low on the food chain but he will damage the hell out of them. I'd say he'd do them some damage," said Tony.

"What do you need to bring him in?" asked Fornell.

"To text him a message and then have Mullen and I pick him up and drive him into Fed Plaza tomorrow then we can bring him to whatever safe house you have for him," said Tony.

"Do it," ordered Fornell.

Tony took his smart phone out and texted to Marco: _Time to go home. Tomorrow noon, where we played as kids._


	15. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Central Park initially opened in 1857. At one time cows grazed there but now people suntanned and played there during the summer and just played there during the winter. It was also a place where Tony's mother brought him to play during the winter months and where he met Marco Moreno. Marco and he played football, basketball, and baseball with Tony being the better athlete.

Marco was waiting for Tony, though, at boathouse in Central Park. When Tony showed up with Mullen, Marco, who was five foot six inches and brown greased back hair and wearing a black leather coat, stood staring at the manmade pond.

"Marco," Tony called to him.

He turned and waved at Tony and walked over to him and Mullen.

"Time for me to come clean, Tony?" he asked.

"Yeah, Marco, it's time for you to come clean," he said.

"Gentlemen, I recommend we take this to the car and then get him to Fed Plaza," said Mullen. "I don't like being in the open."

"Let's scoot," said Tony.

They exited Central Park and across the street to the Charger. Tony got behind the wheel while Mullen got in the passenger seat and Marco in the back.

"I hope they send me somewhere boring where I'm the only fucking Italian in the town," said Marco.

"The Marshalls should be able to handle that," Tony said.

"I'm thinking Wyoming, or some shithole like that," said Marco.

"You better now call it a shithole if you're going to live there," Mullen pointed out.

"Yeah, good point," Marco agreed.

The cut across town to First Avenue and pointed the car towards downtown. As he did this he picked up a SUV in his rearview mirror following them. It had four men in it.

"I think Genovese men are following us," said Tony.

"Fuck, I'm dead," said Marco.

"No, you're not," Mullen said.

As they went through the cross street at 83rd another SUV gunned into the front of their car. The air bags went off cushioning the two men. Tony and Mullen got their guns out and immediately started firing.

"Stay down, Marco!" yelled Tony.

Mullen opened the passenger's door. Put half a clip into the car that rammed them then fired the rest of the clip in the direction of the SUV behind them. One of the men in the SUV behind them unloaded the forty rounds in its clip into the back window with an MP7. Tony felt the burn of bullet wounds in his left arm and shoulder.

Tony emptied his clip into the man then ejected it and slipped a new clip in and continued firing hoping they could hold out until the police came. He pulled his smart phone and speed dialed Fornell.

"_Hello_," he answered.

"FUBAR, Fornell. Need help!" yelled Tony.

"_We're on our way. Hold out_," Fornell screamed.

Mullen by hitting the pavement opened up himself to fire, but it gave him better aim at the men. He emptied another clip, as left a bullet shatter his shoulder blade from behind. Tony saw one of the surviving men in the SUV that rammed them shoot Mullen, so he opened up putting holes in the windshield and into the shooter then he felt another burn through his upper right arm.

In the background police blared and the remaining men in the SUV took off. Tony felt dizzy but he allowed himself to finally exhale. He looked in the back of the car.

"You okay, Marco?" he asked.

"Yeah, Tony, not a scratch," he said. "Fucking idiots. I can't wait to fink now."

"Good," he said.

The police cars started to pull up and surround them. Tony opened his door and got out. He wanted to check on Mullen, but he was feeling dizzy.

"Freeze! Drop your gun!" a cop yelled.

"FBI," he said as darkness started to blur his vision. _I refuse to pass out. I am not going to pass out. _He looked down at his shirt and saw the expanding field of red in his shirt. _I'm passing out._

Tony fell face first into the pavement.

NCIS

Ziva had come to work with Gibbs in order to talk to Jenny, who was able to get her permanent residency. It took calling in a lot of favors, but she managed to do it. Ziva sat in the chair in front of Jenny's desk smiling.

"Tony, really?" Jenny said.

"Yes, Jenny, I love him," she said.

"Wow," Jenny smiled. "So does he live up to his reputation?"

Jenny was surprised to see Ziva actually blush.

"He surpasses it," she said with a big smile.

"I don't know if Gibbs will let you back on the team if you are breaking one of his rules," she said.

"Whatever he thinks is best he will do," Ziva said.

"Hopefully, Tony will be back soon," said Jenny.

Gibbs burst into the office making Jenny raise an eyebrow from exasperation. She stared at him, as did Ziva.

"DiNozzo's been shot. Fornell just called me. He and Mullen were attacked transporting an informant," said Gibbs.

"Gibbs, he is alright, yes?" asked Ziva.

"He is in surgery. According to Fornell he was hit four times and Mullen three," said Gibbs.

"He always has win competitions," fumed Ziva.

She stood up: "I need to go to New York."

"We leave in three hours. Go home and pack a bag," said Gibbs.

Ziva stormed out of the office leaving Gibbs with Jenny.

"How is he Gibbs?" asked Jenny.

"Shot up," he answered.

"Let me know how he is and if there is anything I can do," she said.

"I will, Jen," he replied.

He started to leave when jenny cleared her throat and he turned around and looked at each other.

"They love each other, so let them," she said.

He smiled: "We'll see."

NCIS

Tony woke from his drug induced sleep to see Ziva sitting in a chair beside his bed. His face was badly scraped from his face hitting the pavement, which added to the soreness. She was dozing. Her hair was down and wild. She looked like she was part feral creature and part angel in his eyes. He groaned from pain when he tried to move. She opened her eyes and looked at him.

"Why do you keep getting hurt?" she asked him.

"Just lucky, I guess," he said in a hoarse voice.

She put some ice chips up to his lips so he could chew on a few to lubricate his throat.

"If we are going to get married you have to stop this habit," she said.

"I'll try, sweet cheeks," he said then grimaced. "Do you want to tell me what is wrong with him?"

"Through and through in the left shoulder, a bullet through the left bicep, bullet grazed your right arm and a bullet went thought your left side," she said trying to sound matter of fact.

"Okay, not too bad, nothing major," he said trying to sound happy that nothing too bad had happened to him.

"Except blood loss which is why you feel so weak," she told him.

"How about Mullen?" asked Tony.

"Shattered right shoulder blade, through and through in his left shoulder, and a bullet in his left thigh. He is lucky, also," she said.

"Sounds pleasant. Marco is alive," he said.

"He was untouched. The Marshalls have him according to Fornell. He is fuming because he believes the FBI has a mole," she said.

"I'd say he's right about that," yawned Tony. "I love you, Zi."

"I love you, too," she said. "Now go to sleep."

"You'll be here when I wake up," he said.

"If anyone tries to remove me I will hurt them," she smiled.

"Hey," he said as his eyelids started to become heavy, "are you okay? Should we get married right away?"

"Don't worry, Ahuvi, I am good now and we will marry in good time," she smiled.

"I'll marry you right now if you want," he said sleepily. "I want to marry you."

Ziva got up and took the painkiller tripper and pressed it and released a good dosage.

"Sleep, we will talk later," she said then kissed his forehead.

NCIS 

Ziva was asleep in a comfortable chair looking out for the sleeping Tony when the door opened and Malachi slipped into the room. She immediately woke up and pointed her Sig Sauer at him.

"I am not here to hurt him Ziva but check on him," Malachi said.

"Why?" she asked with venom.

"Because he has helped me to my task in order to protect you. He is a good man," Malachi said.

"What do you mean he has protected me?" she asked.

"Your father has in a sense cut a deal with him: he leaves you alone for Tony's assistance. He told me where to find Scalia and he killed Notaro himself. Now your father can blackmail anytime he wishes to work for Mossad again, but you are safe and I will make sure of it. I thought you should know what he has done for you," said Malachi.

"No," she said and tears burned her eyes.

"I will try and make sure that your father doesn't misuse him, Ziva. I like him. Under different circumstances he and I could have be friends," said Malachi.

"My father cannot destroy him. We have to stop him," she said trying to contain her emotions.

"Ziva, trust me. I will do my best to protect him and you," Malachi said.

"This is… I love him and my father has to dirty it," she said.

"Do not do that. He is sacrificing something important for you, his ethics, so you support him. If you father asks too much of him, I will let you know and we will find a way to stop him," Malachi said.

"Can I trust you?" she asked him.

"You have to, Ziva," he said then left.

NCIS 

It was a week of lying in bed being bored and waiting for updates from Fornell, while Ziva babysat him. She had moved into his hotel room, but spent most of her time with him in the room. All Tony wanted, though, was release from the hospital.

As Ziva sat in the corner reading a book, Tony watched the TV. He everything seemed good he was getting his release tomorrow. This meant he had the choice between going home to recuperate or hoping Fornell allowed him to stay and continue with the Task Force. The door opened and Gibbs and Fornell walked into the room. Ziva closed the book.

"Marco has given us more than we could hope for," Fornell said. "He can tie your father into the order to kill DA Michael Foley. It seems our friend Mikey was the hitter and he told us where to find the body."

"You putting in for an arrest warrant for him, Fornell?" asked Tony.

Fornell nodded his head in the affirmative.

"Can you wait until tomorrow to pick him up? I get released tomorrow and I'd like to go along for the ride," said Tony.

"DiNozzo, you're still injured," said Gibbs.

"I'll be an observer with a ninja by my side to protect him," he said then nodded over to Ziva, who smiled.

"You want to be there when he is arrested?" asked Fornell.

"If I had two good hands I'd insist on putting the cuffs on him myself," said Tony.

"None of this would have happened without you, Tony. We are going with about ten cop cars and four FBI cars to his home in Long Island. You'll be in one of the cars with Ziva," said Fornell.

"You will stay out of the way until everything is safe," ordered Gibbs.

"My father won't put up a fight. He'll expect his lawyers to win the battle for him," Tony said. "I just want to see him in cuffs just once."

"He will be ready in the morning in a nice suit," said Ziva.

"Did anything get back to Vincent?" asked Tony.

"Nothing," said Fornell. "He can't be touched still. Maybe once a few more dominoes fall, though."

"Don't count on it Fornell Vincent is smarter than my father," said Tony. "He is really his own consigliere."

"I'm starting to see that, kid," Fornell said and then smiled. "And he thinks you would have made a great Don. That's kind of scary DiNozzo, do you know that?"

"I know it. It scares me, too," said Tony.

"Well, he plays on the side of the angels which I'm glad for," said Gibbs.

"Thanks, boss," said Tony.

"I hope I am still your boss, DiNozzo," said Gibbs. "We haven't talked yet about you coming back to NCIS."

"I know, boss. I haven't made up my mind yet," said Tony.

"Why?" asked Gibbs.

"Vincent is too powerful. I don't like that," Tony said.

"Not your fault," Gibbs said.

"Feels like it's my fault," Tony said.

"Well, I've been told by Mullen that if you go back to NCIS he wants to join you. He said that you two are meant to be partners," said Fornell. "I don't want to lose you two."

"You don't want me as an enemy, Fornell," warned Gibbs.

"I know. It's tough enough having you as a friend," smiled Fornell.

"I'll tell PJ if he needs to requisition transfer papers," Tony said.

"Okay, see in the morning, kid," said Fornell.

"Get some rest, DiNozzo," said Gibbs.

NCIS

Ziva got his charcoal grey Zegna suit along with a white shirt and black tie. She knew he'd want to look good for today. Helping him to dress himself, Ziva suddenly felt oddly happy to be helping him in this way. She knew that today was important to Tony and wanted to show him nothing but support.

"How do I look?" he asked Ziva as he tried to act calm even though his stomach was doing flips.

"You look handsome," she said. "Fornell is picking us up with Gibbs in a SUV."

The drive out to Long Island was quiet. For Fornell, Ziva and Gibbs this was nothing unusual, but for Tony this was a sign of his uneasiness. He knew this was something he had to do. His father and he had a relationship based on hate by this time, yet it was still his father they were going to arrest. Grey clouds hung in the air threatening rain.

If his uncle lived in a mansion then his father lived in the steroid enhanced version of a mansion. The police cars drove along with this lights flashing but their sirens off. As they headed down the driveway to the front door, Tony felt a twist in his gut. The SUV in was in stopped right in front of the house.

Ziva got out then helped him out. Fornell, who had the arrest warrant, and Gibbs strode to the front door and knocked. It was answered by one of Anthony DiNozzo, Snr men.

"I see company has come," he said.

"You were expecting us," Fornell remarked.

"Your office leaks like a sieve," he said to Fornell.

"We can talk about that later," said Fornell. "Where is Anthony Dinozzo, Snr."

Tony walked past the man. Even with his arm in a sling he held himself like a prince of the Family.

"Daddy, I'm home," he yelled.

Gibbs, Fornell, and Ziva along with several armed men followed him. The place was huge.

Walking down the main staircase, Anthony, Snr. looked like a million dollars. His suit was freshly pressed as was his linen shirt. He had gold cufflinks and a gold tie pin in his grey silk tie.

"You don't belong here. I threw you out years ago," he said.

"Oh, pops, can't we just get along?" smiled Tony.

"You are nothing, no one," said Anthony.

"Daddy, such harsh words for your only son," said Tony, who stood at the bottom of the staircase.

"You were never good enough to be my son," said Anthony.

Tony blessed himself and smiled: "I thank God every day for that."

He came to the bottom of the staircase and glared into his son's eyes.

"I'm not done," he said.

"Maybe you are or maybe you're not," Tony said.

Fornell came over and handcuffed Anthony DiNozzo, Snr.

"When I get clear of this you are going to regret it," said Anthony to his son.

"Father, I've been regretting knowing you my whole life," he said.

"Take him away," Fornell said.

His father was escorted to the nearest police car. Tony felt Ziva come up beside him and take his left hand in her right hand.

"We both have trouble with fathers," she said.

"You can say that again," he smiled.

Tony watched as his father sat stoically in the back of the police cruiser ignoring him.

Epilogue

Two months had past and Tony had been part of the task Force in DC preparing for the trials that were coming up. He and Ziva had moved into a new bigger apartment and were talking about marriage. He was due back to NCIS in a week, a week before he had to make up his mind between FBI and NCIS.

Vincent had sent him a card with the words Babbo. He was now considered useless and dead. His uncle had to do this. It was the end of his grace period with the family. Next time in New York they would try and kill him.

"Tony, have you decided about returning to NCIS yet?" Ziva asked him.

"No, Zi, why?" he asked, as they sat on their sofa watching a movie.

"Gibbs wants you back. He is willing to overlook rule 12 for us," she said.

"PJ is waiting for me to decide to. He says I shouldn't return unless they make me a team leader and he can be part of my team," he told her.

"I thought I like Mullen, but now I'm not too sure," she said.

"Zi, he just wants to stay partner. He thinks we work well together. He's right. We do," said Tony.

"You work better with me," she smiled.

"I can't argue with that," he returned the smile.

"So you are returning?" she said.

"You won't give up, huh?" he said.

"Why should I. I like working with you," she said.

His smart phone rang. Tony got up and grabbed the phone off the breakfast nook and answered it.

"DiNozzo," he said.

"Anthony," the accented voice of Eli David said, "I have no forgotten about you. It is time that you do another job for us."

"Now is not a good time," said Tony.

"It never is a good time," chuckled Eli. "You belong to me, Anthony. You are one of mine now."


End file.
